DIY collimator for 16W IR laser

[me109]

I am new to this hobby and pretty much know nothing compared to some of the more experienced users on this forum. So any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

I want to replicate Styropyro’s project that he showcased in his video “100% Invisible IR death ray laser!”.

I already purchased 16W fiber optic laser with power supply and I want to use it to build kind of a IR flash light with beam divergence of approximately 5 inches over 100 yards.

My question is: what type/size/shape lenses do I need to buy to build a collimator that would give me desired beam output? Any recommended vendors?

 

[Unown (WILD)]

How old are you?

 

[liveforphysics]

Also, reduce that fibers bend radius. You need the tip of the fiber to be cleaner than you've ever made anything before you power it up, or it instantly scratches the tip of the fiber and it will not make a beam again without a ton of work (don't do it if you can avoid it). You will need a serious collumator optic to make it into a useful beam. They are on ebay, but around $100-400 for good ones.

 

[RedCowboy]

You must have a cleaved and polished fiber end mounted into a termination that you can use and the coherence length can be very poor out of a fiber coupled IR pump type array, which is what I expect you have, that said you could just use a telescope in reverse or look for a collimator .......of course extreme caution is in order when working with invisible beams so make certain to wear the appropriate laser safety glasses to attenuate the wavelength you are working with and removing the IR filter from a camera so you can see what you're doing is a good idea.

Remember to be safe and most of all don't hurt anyone else with your device.

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[Eidetical]

I'm amazed at how fast people on this forum will push safety goggles on new visitors for a 10mW He-Ne yet offer immediate help to someone off the street wanting to build possibly the most dangerous laser to public safety that can be imagined. With absolutely no vetting, probing (except an appropriate "How old are you?" and essentially "don't hurt yourself or anyone else"), or possibly comments like "read a book about basic optics and lasers" or "walk before you run" sort of things. Just sayin'.

I'm not a safety nanny, but jesus freakin christ, what possible use is there for such a thing except possible mayhem or night hunting like a total pussy? Again, just sayin'. Thinking about the scene 10 years from now, this thread makes me want to push for the restriction and federal licensing of fiber lasers.

Nothing personal, just making a point. I love all lasers and applications of them, but if anything should be excluded from public forums about building them, I'd suggest IR lasers is it. Yet , I've offered support for builders of gas CO2 lasers, so there's my hypocrisy.

 

[CurtisOliver]

You're absolutely right Eidetical. Just stumbled on this and I am horrified at the implications of this one.

OP, styropyro does some cool stuff from time to time, but not everything he does should be replicated. Especially not by anyone inexperienced. Not only do you need experience of handling Class IV lasers, you need to have experience handling Class IV invisible wavelengths too. 16W of collimated IR is not to be messed around with. Especially outdoors where you can come into contact with others.

Edit: Watch 3:52. Even styropyro himself states that a powerful IR should not be your first project.

 

[Unown (WILD)]

I had to ban a member that came from styros discord because he was asking what power a laser has to be to slice someone in half. He got banned over there because of similar questions. I'm getting tired of damage control because of styros fanbase. I know it's for the views and clicks but damn so many people want to copy his creations without consideration for safety just because it looks cool.

 

[me109]

How old are you?

25

 

[me109]

You're absolutely right Eidetical. Just stumbled on this and I am horrified at the implications of this one.

OP, styropyro does some cool stuff from time to time, but not everything he does should be replicated. Especially not by anyone inexperienced. Not only do you need experience of handling Class IV lasers, you need to have experience handling Class IV invisible wavelengths too. 16W of collimated IR is not to be messed around with. Especially outdoors where you can come into contact with others.

Edit: Watch 3:52. Even styropyro himself states that a powerful IR should not be your first project.

I totally share your sentiment and I am thankful that you guys care enough to warn the newbie. I understand how dangerous collimated IR lasers can be but I am being very careful.
I power the laser in my basement, and use camera to look through my FPV googles. So there is no risk to anyone.

 

[Unown (WILD)]

Okay then as long as you understand that this is a very dangerous project. Good luck to you

 

[Eidetical]

I get the joy of seeing many Watts of visible light beam going through the air and what it can do where it's stopped, but IR is a different situation altogether, because it's covert. Who knows what animal eyes were blinded in that video? And he fully knows what he's doing. I can hear the guilt in his words. I wonder if there's any description for such a device other than as a directed energy weapon. Because it's covert.

 

[me109]

And he fully knows what he's doing. I can hear the guilt in his words. I wonder if there's any description for such a device other than as a directed energy weapon.

Dude, I am no DR. Evil and I don't have phallic shaped rocket like Jeff Bezos does

Also my laser is not fully invisible. It is 800nm so, it is still dimly visible with a naked eye.

 

[me109]

You must have a cleaved and polished fiber end mounted into a termination that you can use and the coherence length can be very poor out of a fiber coupled IR pump type array, which is what I expect you have, that said you could just use a telescope in reverse or look for a collimator .......of course extreme caution is in order when working with invisible beams so make certain to wear the appropriate laser safety glasses to attenuate the wavelength you are working with and removing the IR filter from a camera so you can see what you're doing is a good idea.

Remember to be safe and most of all don't hurt anyone else with your device.

This is the exact model that I have "COHERENT FAP 800 FAP800-L-16W-800-830nm +/-.1 1.1mw FIBER COUPLED DIODE LASER (as on the picture in my first post)
"

The beam out of the fiber cable is collimated to burn things at about 6-7 inches. Then the beam diameter gets too large.

I tried cheap collimating lense from amazon but the beam would focus only for couple of feet and would not improve burning distance at all. Only lense and lense enclosure would heat up.


Then I purchased a pricey collimator from Thor labs. But I did not get any better results, so I had to return it. Maybe I bought a wrong collimator?
I don't know if those Aliexpress colimators will work either, that's why I thought getting lenses separately and putting them in PVC tube (to be able to adjust lense distances was a good idea).
I just don't know what shape lenses do I need to get (their focal length and etc...).

 

[Eidetical]

Nothing personal, and welcome to the forum! Just making points in general. But if using the laser in your basement, why make it a portable "flashlight"? I can think of lots of uses for 16W of collimated IR in a basement, but none that would need it to be mounted in the form of a flashlight. Again, nothing personal.

 

[CurtisOliver]

Dude, I am no DR. Evil and I don't have phallic shaped rocket like Jeff Bezos does

Also my laser is not fully invisible. It is 800nm so, it is still dimly visible with a naked eye.

Just be aware that the visible red you see is very understated. As you understand the risks, then best of luck. Just for obvious reasons, be careful. I have a 50W 808, and have only ever ran it at threshold. And I get a good sense of the danger just from that.

 

[Eidetical]

I apologize to me109 for the tone of my posts in this thread. I could've made my points without being unnecessarily argumentative and accusatory.