What's your Dream LASER Diode - IF it were affordable? *Grand Purchase Plan*

TO3 is very rarely if ever used around here. I don't know much about it. C-mount is a bit more common, but only in expensive custom-built hosts such as some Krytons. TO5 is even more common, but many members here still have not even seen one irl (including me), much less built one.

I would guess TO18 is used in like 98% of lasers made by members from here. You would get a lot more customers if you went for that.

I'd be interested in the 635 300mw. Would anyone here be willing to build a laser for me if I provide the diode?

Forget 635. They always seem to come with horrible beams- unusable for the average hobbyist here.

I say 200mw of 375nm would be neat-o,

http://www.nichia.com/specification/en/product/ld/NDU7212E-E.pdf

And then there's 60mw of 488nm!

http://www.nichia.com/specification/en/product/ld/NDS4113-E.pdf

But even 20mw of 473nm would be lovely!

http://www.nichia.com/specification/en/product/ld/NDHA210APAE1-E.pdf

And there's the possibility of having a 700mw manufacturer rated 405nm diode- one we could probably drive beyond 650mA with a reasonable amount of lifetime attached to it.

Just some ideas I guess.

Nichia supposedly has 515nm diodes shipping already, but I don't see any evidence of it.

They ARE though, soon to release some 460nm diodes. 460 is a perfect blue IMO.

Yea but could we do 488nm or 375nm

they are MUCH more expensive then the others.

well well, if this is really going to happen, depending on the diode package and wavelength, I'm in

I'm in for 635 unless there is a more visible wavelength.

the more visible wavelength is 555 :beer:

I'm wondering if we could get some 488 or 515nm.

515nm=brightest beam at night.

Meatball said:

Forget 635. They always seem to come with horrible beams- unusable for the average hobbyist here.

I say 200mw of 375nm would be neat-o,

http://www.nichia.com/specification/en/product/ld/NDU7212E-E.pdf

And then there's 60mw of 488nm!

http://www.nichia.com/specification/en/product/ld/NDS4113-E.pdf

But even 20mw of 473nm would be lovely!

http://www.nichia.com/specification/en/product/ld/NDHA210APAE1-E.pdf

And there's the possibility of having a 700mw manufacturer rated 405nm diode- one we could probably drive beyond 650mA with a reasonable amount of lifetime attached to it.

Just some ideas I guess.

Nichia supposedly has 515nm diodes shipping already, but I don't see any evidence of it.

They ARE though, soon to release some 460nm diodes. 460 is a perfect blue IMO.

Click to expand...

That's interesting, I'll check with this manufacturer if they have plans for the other wavelengths... that 460nm is nice, it's very close to 457nm ...

if this diode does exist, it would be easier to work with it, rather than the 457nm and BBO crystal set.

joeyss said:

Yea but could we do 488nm or 375nm

they are MUCH more expensive then the others.

Click to expand...

If the manufacturer I'm dealing with now has it, it may not be as expensive to this community as was before

Leodahsan said:

well well, if this is really going to happen, depending on the diode package and wavelength, I'm in

Click to expand...

Oh ... it will happen ... more than one time too!

joeyss said:

I'm in for 635 unless there is a more visible wavelength.

Click to expand...

I was informed by the manufacturer two days ago, they now offer a 635nm @ 1 full watt in TO3 and C-mount cases. ... green may be more noticable both in daytime and night, I haven't played with 635nm but was told it looks as bright as 532nm (GREEN) , at less power of 635nm needed to be as bright as the green.
I don't know for sure, but I'd like to see if a 1watt 635nm can over-power the 1watt 532nm

joeyss said:

I'm wondering if we could get some 488 or 515nm.

515nm=brightest beam at night.

Click to expand...

with the crystal sets working with wavelengths 500nm and higher,
using the proper IR diode and crystal set , 515nm should be possible now.

is 515nm cyan?

I forgot to also say, I didn't include the single-mode 635nm diode @ 30mW , since
it wasn't powerfull as all like here, ... but if someone wants to see the spec-sheet
please tell me if it pays to include for people wanting single-mode diodes.

There's also 405nm @ 200mW available, but not mentioned in the poll.

515 is blueish green. it is the night peak eye sensitivity.

Leodahsan said:

515 is blueish green. it is the night peak eye sensitivity.

Click to expand...

isn't blueish green considered cyan, or is this 515nm closer to actual green at 532nm making it not quite cyan (middle ground between the two)?

sorry to make another back-to-back post but this is special ...

I just found out, the 635nm 300mW TO18 (5.6mm) Laser Diode is
SINGLE MODE ... one single emitter.

I was assuming it was multi-mode being it was 300mW and thought the
only single modes were 30mW or less.

If you want to see the data sheet, let me know... I'd like to see if this one
is better than the standard 650nm diodes at the same power.

I just found out, the 635nm 300mW TO18 (5.6mm) Laser Diode is
SINGLE MODE ... one single emitter.

Click to expand...

Awesome! Any rough estimate what kind of a price range we can expect on that diode?
Seems to be the most wanted one.

anselm said:

Awesome! Any rough estimate what kind of a price range we can expect on that diode?
Seems to be the most wanted one.

Click to expand...

I'm going to wait until I get all the quotes from all the manufacturers first before I start mentioning pricing... but from the price quotes I have so far,
it's going to be much lower than retail, and so far, somewhat better than getting it from eBay

If it goes well here, with purchases, this special Grand Purchase will happen several times per year so you can stock up on your favorate diodes all year round.

When new colors come out, and the manufacturer has them for sale, this site can be the first to play with them at a greatly reduced price.

If you want to see the specs, for this 635nm 300mW 5.6mm diode, I can attach it to this thread.

GreenBeam said:

I don't know for sure, but I'd like to see if a 1watt 635nm can over-power the 1watt 532nm

Click to expand...

It can't, and as said those 1W diodes produce an absolutely horrible beam and it's hard to mount anywhere. Most members here would have no use for them.

GreenBeam said:

is 515nm cyan?

Click to expand...

No, it's very green

GreenBeam said:

I forgot to also say, I didn't include the single-mode 635nm diode @ 30mW , since
it wasn't powerfull as all like here, ... but if someone wants to see the spec-sheet
please tell me if it pays to include for people wanting single-mode diodes.

Click to expand...

What about the HL63133DG diode? It's a 170mW 635-642nm diode. It's SINGLE MODE and 5.6mm. Perfect for hobby use, and pretty cheap (100 euros in quantities of about 50.
Here is the spec sheet: http://www.opnext.com/products/pdf/ode2_071_hl63133dg_Rev1.pdf

I vote that diode.

Grix said:

It can't, and as said those 1W diodes produce an absolutely horrible beam and it's hard to mount anywhere. Most members here would have no use for them.



No, it's very green



What about the HL63133DG diode? It's a 170mW 635-642nm diode. It's SINGLE MODE and 5.6mm. Perfect for hobby use, and pretty cheap (100 euros in quantities of about 50.
Here is the spec sheet: http://www.opnext.com/products/pdf/ode2_071_hl63133dg_Rev1.pdf

I vote that diode.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that info Grix,
what if you could have the 300mW 635nm 5.6mm diode for the same price? (with smaller quantities)

This manufacturer claims it's Medical quality. I don't know if it is, but it IS a SINGLE ELEMENT Emitter.



on a totally different note;
when I clicked to quote Grix's reply, this program left out my quotes within his... shouldn't it keep all the quotes within each other?