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any low power 445nm lasers

RoDnSuE

RoDnSuE

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Anyone know of any lower power/cheap (newwish grade):) <100mw 445nm lasers available or coming down the pike?

Sorry if it's been asked already but I couldn't find anything listed in a search or two.

I did find this on Epray but the price is "way too high" for the power.
If I was gonna pay that much, I would just spend a bit more for one of DTR's quality builds. And I somehow doubt it's really 5mw.
I really just want the color more than the power....


Brandnew Rare True Blue Laser Pointer 5mW @ 445nm - eBay (item 380289937100 end time Dec-16-10 11:25:59 PST)

Thanks,
Rod
 
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Benm

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Not really.. most 445s on the market now are based on the casio multimode diodes that could easily be driven to much higher power levels. If you wanted to, you could tune those down to 100 mW, but they would still be multimode diodes.
 
RoDnSuE

RoDnSuE

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Thanks Benm,
That's what I was afraid of. Guess I will have to save up some money after the holidays.
 
Benm

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Ah well, i guess it will actually be a very nice DIY experience. When you just want half a watt or less, it will be an easy project to complete with limited effort, and much more fun then getting a prebuilt device :)
 
Blord

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Buy the cheap BR laserpointer from Ebay and swap the 405nm diode to 445nm. Set the driver to 200mA.
Total cost $9 + $42 = $51
The laserwarning sign match the color :)

bluenewwish.jpg
 
daguin

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I have one running fairly stable at 35mW. I wouldn't try to run it down at 5mW. As has been mentioned, they drop in output with heat.

I doubt that the one listed is actually running at 5mW. Remember, the "legal" limit for a pointer on eBay is 5mW. In order for them to avoid having the auction pulled, they have to report 5mW

Keep in mind, that at these lower outputs you can use the acrylic lens to cut down the output a bit more. I have not tried it yet, but you might even use a lens designed for red light to cut the output down even more ;)

I would have to have the eBay laser in hand to know, but it might also be possible to slip an ND filter in front of the lens :)

Peace,
dave
 
RA_pierce

RA_pierce

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@Daguin
The Aixiz glass for red does cut down power for the blues about 15% more than acrylic.
 
midias

midias

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I am running at ~20 mw with a plastic lens but I had to tune the driver for my diode
 
midias

midias

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RA_pierce said:
@Daguin
The Aixiz glass for red does cut down power for the blues about 15% more than acrylic.
Click to expand...

Maybe my lens just sucked but at low power it did not seem to cut it down much for me on my lpm.
 
RA_pierce

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midias said:
Maybe my lens just sucked but at low power it did not seem to cut it down much for me on my lpm.
Click to expand...

I have noticed (and posted about it some time ago) that there is sometimes variation in the aixiz glass lenses.

I've had a few that were purchased as 660nm lenses but came to me with an amber tint (indicative of coating for blue). I tried it on a 405nm laser and it output slightly less power than Aixiz 405nm lenses.
However, on a 650nm laser, this lens output "normal" power for this type of lens.

I had another on hand that had a blue tint and they output equal power with a red laser but the blue coated one showed a decrease in output with a 405nm laser as was to be expected.

When the 445nm diodes came out, I tried out one of the 660nm coated lenses while I waited on my 405nm lenses and measured power to be less than acrylic. It might be worth mentioning that the 445nm laser was set to 500mW at the time after Aixiz acrylic.
I would expect the difference in the lenses to be more noticeable with higher power, where the resolution will be higher.
 
Leodahsan

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don't the red glass lenses have a lower reflectivity for red and a bigger reflectivity for blues? what about back reflection on the diode? :)
just a thought.
 
RA_pierce

RA_pierce

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Leodahsan said:
don't the red glass lenses have a lower reflectivity for red and a bigger reflectivity for blues? what about back reflection on the diode? :)
just a thought.
Click to expand...

Yes.
Back reflection is not an issue at low power.
The only time back reflection has ever damaged one of my diodes is when I used a mirror to reflect >90% of the laser beam of a LOC diode back onto the die.

You need to reflect a high percentage of the power to cause any damage to the cavity, and some diodes are more vulnerable than others due to their construction.
 
daguin

daguin

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RA_pierce said:
I have noticed (and posted about it some time ago) that there is sometimes variation in the aixiz glass lenses.

I've had a few that were purchased as 660nm lenses but came to me with an amber tint (indicative of coating for blue). I tried it on a 405nm laser and it output slightly less power than Aixiz 405nm lenses.
However, on a 650nm laser, this lens output "normal" power for this type of lens.
Click to expand...

There is also a glass lens that has a coating that is supposed to be for "broad band." The reflected tint is this "amber" tint. I tested some earlier with a 445nm laser:

405-G-1 lens = 1200mW
AixiZ 445nm glass = 1050mW
This "broad band" lens (amber) = 900mW
AixiZ 650 coated lens = 500mW

Peace,
dave
 
RA_pierce

RA_pierce

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daguin said:
There is also a glass lens that has a coating that is supposed to be for "broad band." The reflected tint is this "amber" tint. I tested some earlier with a 445nm laser:

405-G-1 lens = 1200mW
AixiZ 445nm glass = 1050mW
This "broad band" lens (amber) = 900mW
AixiZ 650 coated lens = 500mW

Peace,
dave
Click to expand...

I see.
Are these with the "new" Aixiz lenses?
I only have the "old" lenses on hand.
The full threaded "new" 405/445nm lenses I got were inferior to the half-threaded "old" 405nm lenses.
Same for the 650nm lenses. The "old" ones seem to be marginally better in terms of light output.
And the 405/445nm full threaded ones gave a splotchy/smeared beam pattern even when the individual elements were removed and cleaned.

I never knew Aixiz sold a "broadband" lens.
 
daguin

daguin

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RA_pierce said:
I see.
Are these with the "new" Aixiz lenses?
I only have the "old" lenses on hand.
The full threaded "new" 405/445nm lenses I got were inferior to the half-threaded "old" 405nm lenses.
Same for the 650nm lenses. The "old" ones seem to be marginally better in terms of light output.

I never knew Aixiz sold a "broadband" lens.
Click to expand...

AixiZ does not sell those lenses (anymore). AixiZ does not make their lenses. They buy them from someone else. These were the ones that first came out from AixiZ until we bitched enough to get them to find the 405-445nm lenses. They come in a full-threaded, metal nut. I have seen the front of the nut with either "slots" like the AixiZ or "indents" to focus with.

They are less expensive than the AixiZ, but output less with the 445nm. I have not tested them with 405nm.

Peace,
dave
 
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