Best sources for higher power lasers

[JohnHoward]

I am new to this forum. I would like to learn from some of you with far more experience where you shop for lasers. I recently purchased a "30mw" green (532) from LaserPointerPro (China) and received a little toy laser that I would guess to be about 1mw, far dimmer than my standard 5mw lasers. I don't have a laser power detector, but I can use lenses to spread two lasers to equal size circles on a white wall and see the brightness difference very clearly.

I am interested in red, green, and blue for use in making holograms (and some other projects). While pointers are often fine, I actually prefer modules so I can put them on their own heat sink and control them with something other than a momentary switch.

Thanks for any clues.

 

[Shmackitup]

Welcome to LPF! You can check out my website or ebay store for diodes, modules, drivers, optics and more.

 

[Mattronium]

Welcome to LPF John.
Many commonly sold "5mw" laser pointers can frequently be much higher power than they claim, sometimes up to 100mW, so just always use them safely.

If you are serious about making Holograms then make sure to read all posts by Eidetical on holograms, as he has a lot of expertise on them.

 

[JohnHoward]

Welcome to LPF John.
Many commonly sold "5mw" laser pointers can frequently be much higher power than they claim, sometimes up to 100mW, so just always use them safely.

If you are serious about making Holograms then make sure to read all posts by Eidetical on holograms, as he has a lot of expertise on them.

Thank you very much. Yes, I have found a couple of my green lasers, which I thought to be 5mw are actually marked 100mw and look like they are going to make excellent holography lasers.

 

[Mattronium]

Have you checked if they are single mode? I think one main part of a suitable holography laser is it must be single longitudinal mode, most normal lasers aren't suitable for holography. Some single mode diodes run at lower power, some OPSL's, and Gas lasers are good for holography I think, but you'll have to do some research to confirm as I'm not experienced with holography.

 

[andresdelosreyes77]

I recommend laserpointerstore, they were just great with me and answered all my questions even after the shipment was completed