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If you're in the market for a portable 473nm laser, check out our recent price reductions on the RPL-Blue at http://www.optotronics.com/
Our RPL-Blue is continuous wave, true TEM00, not a Q-switched / pulsed laser.
The human eye cannot see this switching as it's at a rate of greater than 30Hz, but it does reduce the apparent brightness. Switching the diode on and off at a rate is a way to get more "peak power" into a smaller package with a less powerful diode, smaller crystal at a much reduced cost.
Say for instance, a 10mW Q-switched / pulsed laser is switching with a 50% duty cycle. The power output graph over time would be a perfect square wave (50% of the time the laser would be at 10mW, the other 50% of the time it would be at 0mW or off). It's peak output, which is how these are rated, would be listed as 10mW and this what a lasercheck type meter would record as they only report the peak power. But the true output would only be 5mW (the average of the on vs. off time). A more advanced meter capable of report average output, would also show the 5mW output.
Other things to consider when shopping is the warranty and return policies.
Some companies will only stand behind and warranty their product for 30-90 days, this doesn't say much for their confidence in their product.
Also read about who pays the shipping costs on any warranty return and where it needs to be sent if there is a failure. Most reputable companies will have the customer pay for the shipping cost back to them, and they dealer paying the costs back to the customer (splitting the shipping costs). This can still be expensive for the customer to get a warranty item fixed if they have to ship it to China or the far east with proof of delivery, this can cost $35 to $45 one way depending on location. If they require you to pay shipping both ways, it's going to cost ~$100 for a warranty repair.
Our policy at Optotronics is that the customer pays for shipping back to Optotronics (USA) and that is all, if the unit needs to go back to China for a repair, we cover those costs and take care of all the customs paperwork. If one of our lasers arrives DOA or damaged, we pay all the shipping costs.
I think if you look closely, shop smart and compare, you'll find our RPL-Blue series can't be beat.
Jack
Our RPL-Blue is continuous wave, true TEM00, not a Q-switched / pulsed laser.
The human eye cannot see this switching as it's at a rate of greater than 30Hz, but it does reduce the apparent brightness. Switching the diode on and off at a rate is a way to get more "peak power" into a smaller package with a less powerful diode, smaller crystal at a much reduced cost.
Say for instance, a 10mW Q-switched / pulsed laser is switching with a 50% duty cycle. The power output graph over time would be a perfect square wave (50% of the time the laser would be at 10mW, the other 50% of the time it would be at 0mW or off). It's peak output, which is how these are rated, would be listed as 10mW and this what a lasercheck type meter would record as they only report the peak power. But the true output would only be 5mW (the average of the on vs. off time). A more advanced meter capable of report average output, would also show the 5mW output.
Other things to consider when shopping is the warranty and return policies.
Some companies will only stand behind and warranty their product for 30-90 days, this doesn't say much for their confidence in their product.
Also read about who pays the shipping costs on any warranty return and where it needs to be sent if there is a failure. Most reputable companies will have the customer pay for the shipping cost back to them, and they dealer paying the costs back to the customer (splitting the shipping costs). This can still be expensive for the customer to get a warranty item fixed if they have to ship it to China or the far east with proof of delivery, this can cost $35 to $45 one way depending on location. If they require you to pay shipping both ways, it's going to cost ~$100 for a warranty repair.
Our policy at Optotronics is that the customer pays for shipping back to Optotronics (USA) and that is all, if the unit needs to go back to China for a repair, we cover those costs and take care of all the customs paperwork. If one of our lasers arrives DOA or damaged, we pay all the shipping costs.
I think if you look closely, shop smart and compare, you'll find our RPL-Blue series can't be beat.
Jack
