Are Yellows Really Weak in General?

[Medussa]

Are yellow lasers weak in general due to its output etc...? Are they ineffective as I understand others say they are?

 

[pseudonomen137]

Yes, they are very weak. The problem is that its so incredibly hard to create a yellow. With a red laser diode, you can give it <1W of input power, minimal heatsinking and get out a few hundred mW of power. With a yellow, you need a complex DPSS process that's just a fraction of a percent efficient, and thus demands extreme heatsinking, power, and a strong pump diode.

You CAN get yellow modules in higher powers, but you pay the price. Last I saw, AixiZ had a 20mW that they were selling in the thousands.

 

[Medussa]

I wonder if this complex DPSS process concerning yellows would get rectified or there would be some sort of innovative techniques concerning yellows in the future. I think a high powered yellow laser would definately be cool as heck. To bad on what there is to offer on the market concerning yellows.

 

[Medussa]

Thanks for your input Pseudonnomen.

 

[Benm]

I guess there is little demand for them as well. For laser shows and such its feasible to mix the output of a green and red laser, achieving yellow or orange displays.

True yellow lasers will probably remain a curiosity for enthousiasts, lacking any other application.

 

[pseudonomen137]

I wonder if this complex DPSS process concerning yellows would get rectified or there would be some sort of innovative techniques concerning yellows in the future.  I think a high powered yellow laser would definately be cool as heck.  To bad on what there is to offer on the market concerning yellows.

Well, its just physics. The process can be made more efficient with time and work, but its still inherently very inefficient. I don't see yellow DPSS really coming down much because as BenM said, there's also very little demand. What may happen though is in the upcoming years, as more and more wavelengths are attained with direct-injected diodes, we may see direct diodes in that wavelength just like red diodes. Still, demand would probably be low, but it'd be an opportunity for 100mW of yellow laser light for a relatively low price.

 

[Things]

ya like benm said, a reletivly cheap way to get yellow/orange is to mix red and green together, although fitting that into a handheld device will be tricky ;D my RGY scanner has a mixed yellow output of 140mw, so it is fairly high powered, but it is mixed, so it is not perfect.

 

[Justin]

There have been some advances in nanocrystals which should allow for direct diode lasers of any wavelength in the future (See www.scientificamerican.com), but you won't be seeing them in a laser pointer any time soon. Until then we are stuck using DPSS technology to create solid state yellows.

 

[marianne]

There have been some advances in nanocrystals which should allow for direct diode lasers of any wavelength in the future (See www.scientificamerican.com), but you won't be seeing them in a laser pointer any time soon. Until then we are stuck using DPSS technology to create solid state yellows.

in 10, 20 years will i finally get a 488nm pointer due to nanocrystals??

 

[pseudonomen137]

There are 488nm DPSS lasers actually! I'm sure if you have a few tens of thousands in spare change you could contract a company to make you an IIIA pointer  

 

[marianne]

There are 488nm DPSS lasers actually! I'm sure if you have a few tens of thousands in spare change you could contract a company to make you an IIIA pointer

oh i know about *those*, but i have to wait til i win the lottery before doing that

 

[Nordhavn]

I'll wait for a direct injection 488nm diode.