I'm pretty sure we will have dioides that can be pushed to 488nm or near it soon.

In a year or 2 there might be some new 465s that are binned at 470-475nm and over driven to 483 or so.


I got a good gut feeling that there will be some diodes in the upper 460s maybe even above what we have now. Maybe a single mode version of the current 460s.

Hopefully even sooner! Technology is moving quickly joeyss. We really do need to bridge the 473-510 gap along with the 410-440 gap too

-Alex

Not so long ago, we didn't have a direct green, now we do. The amount of new wavelengths available to us is since I joined the hobby is amazing. Hopefully Alex is correct and we won't have to wait too long.

Hap said:

Hopefully even sooner! Technology is moving quickly joeyss. We really do need to bridge the 473-510 gap along with the 410-440 gap too

-Alex

Click to expand...

Yes I'd want a 418 to 425 nm laser.

405s could go up to 418. I'd love to see someone bin a 415 that goes up to 422 when driven at high power. I wonder what it would look like. brighter violets would be awesome.

445 looks weird like when i run a 445 9mm 3 watt at threshold. It looks more violet than blue in a dark room with a low beam yet you can tell it's some violet with mostly blue. Then the dot looks different from a dim reflection off a wall weird color to me. I have blue led around the same WL and same thing when you get further away as the light dims it looks more purple/violetish. Are there atleast leds that are 420-430 peak wl? I'd like to get an idea what they'd look like.

Laser technology develop very fast these days. We have many diodes with new WL (520s,638s,460s, etc ) available over past years. So I think 488nm will soon available too.

We have 488's already, they are just expensive and hard to get hold of. We just want them to be more accessible and be available at higher powers

CurtisOliver said:

Not so long ago, we didn't have a direct green, now we do. The amount of new wavelengths available to us is since I joined the hobby is amazing. Hopefully Alex is correct and we won't have to wait too long.

Click to expand...

Exactly--is, relatively, not so long ago that we didn't have a a low cost easily available 1W, 445nm either which is what drove this high output power hand held laser hobby to become what it is today, to begin with.

Yep, I remember when 1w blues were the new laser craze. The hobby has grown significantly over the years.

CurtisOliver said:

Yep, I remember when 1w blues were the new laser craze. The hobby has grown significantly over the years.

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Even then, they were available before that. Kvant were using them in their projectors, several people bought them. Just weren't cheap - much like 488. That said, 445 has a user in various entertainment products (probably others too). 488 Doesn't.

Several people were rather annoyed that they'd just spent a lot of cash on 445 diodes that were now worth less than 1/10th of what they had paid...

True. Someone needs to persuade the world that cyan/yellow white projectors are the way forward
If only. Then we would have a commercial reason for 490 and 580 diodes.

CurtisOliver said:

True. Someone needs to persuade the world that cyan/yellow white projectors are the way forward
If only. Then we would have a commercial reason for 490 and 580 diodes.

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They would have a wider colour gamut with the Yellow/Cyan thrown in too...

Yes they would have excellent gamut. I have just been working out the wavelengths that would hit the sweet white spot in the CIE table.
It turns out that 485+585 in the closest compromise to true white, whilst giving us cyan and yellow together.
The rest that I have done is:
473+573; 475+575; 488+595; 490+599;

488+589 however is just within the circle where we could class the output as white.

Anyone fancy a 485 and 585?

CurtisOliver said:

Yes they would have excellent gamut. I have just been working out the wavelengths that would hit the sweet white spot in the CIE table.
It turns out that 485+585 in the closest compromise to true white, whilst giving us cyan and yellow together.
The rest that I have done is:
473+573; 475+575; 488+595; 490+599;

488+589 however is just within the circle where we could class the output as white.

Anyone fancy a 485 and 585?

Click to expand...

I'll need to try and dig up the picture. Stanwax set up a PJ with 473 and I think 593 - that made a real nice white! 488 and red (especially ~635) will make a nice white too

We need to experiment away. Then hope a big laser company sees the results. And let them fund a r&d approach to cyan and yellow diodes. :eg: As for 488 and 635, it will probably make a pinkish white depending on your colour perception.
Has anyone got an argon and a 594 DPSS as that should be nearly spot on, if power is taken into account?

Historical --the the business according to WL. About us - Wicked Lasers

Was thinking about "not long ago" and found this WL historical info. $699 for a 125mW 532nm green---$3499 for 40mW 473nm blue--$1999 for a 300mW 532nm--$1999 for a 100mW 405nm among others .

Has come a long way since then!

As much as everyone has serious dislike for and misgivings about WL, they did trailblaze and jumpstart the hobby generating interest in hand held lasers with their products and marketing efforts. Significant developments by WL are below---impressive milestones-think about it.

First hand held high power 532nm green laser --125mW 2004

Spyder I Series which held the Guinness World Record for being the most powerful handheld laser in the world in 2006 --a 300mW 532nm green which sold for $1999. which is where the "most powerful in the world" marketing claim came from.


From WL history page:
"August 2004 - Introduced the first high powered, green handheld laser
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The first green handheld laser was a modified green laser pointer manufactured by Leadlight Taiwan, the first 532nm DPSS green laser pointer manufacturer in history. Power outputs were available from 15mW ($99) to 45mW ($299). Wicked Lasers would later use a higher output pump diode capable of producing an output of 55mW ($399) to 125mW ($699).

January 2006 - Launched the Spyder I Series
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The Spyder I had an output of 40mW in the 473nm blue ($3499) and 300mW in the 532nm green ($1999). Crafted out of heat-resistant brass, it was fully waterproof, with a continuous duty cycle. The Spyder I Series held the Guinness World Record for being the most powerful handheld laser in the world.

November 13, 2006 - Launch of the first purple handheld laser
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The Sonar 405nm 100mW laser ($1999) was created from a diode harvested from the world's first Blu-ray player, the Sony BDP-S1. Later more powerful models were available by harvesting Blu-ray burners.

January 2007 - Introduced the Spyder II Series
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The next generation Spyder II was available in red 300mW ($1999), green 300mW ($1999), and blue 40mW ($1999). Its casing was crafted from T6061 aircraft-grade aluminum, making it lightweight and virtually indestructible. It was the first handheld laser to feature TEC cooling.

September 4, 2009 - Launched the Spyder III Series
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The Spyder III was the first class 4 laser available in 500mW green ($4999), 60mW green, ($3999) and 500mW red ($3499). Featuring mini lock safety technology, the Spyder III was fully compliant with laser compliance manufacturing requirements. Its aircraft grade aluminum, reinforced heat sink and tactical strike bezel made it the most advanced Spyder yet.

June 10, 2010 - The Spyder III Arctic Arrives
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The iconic Arctic 1 watt 445nm blue laser ($299) diode was harvested from a Casio laser projector. Equipped with a digital microprocessor, it requires a passcode for laser activation and features 9 function modes. Its immense popularity caused Lucasfilm to file a cease and desist letter over its "lightsaber-like design". As the story went viral, sales skyrocketed but the company was not able to keep up with demand. Many customers faced delays which ranged from 3-6 months before eventually receiving their order.

Yes, I have to admit. My first class 4 was a 1w arctic. They were responsible for kickstarting my deep hobbiest interest into lasers, but they were just a starting point for me.