Class 3b dye transplant

[Morgantao]

Hi everybody!
I have a Class 3b IR LED from a laser printer.
I was wondering... Can I take the dye from a cheapo class IIIa green laser pointer (<20 mW) and put it between the LED and it's lens assembly?

And would this give me a higher power green laser?

Thanks!

 

[jcranmer]

Ummm. First you do not have an LED. You have a laser diode if it came from a pointer. Second I think you mean crystal set, not dye.

Trying to align the crystal set from my understanding can be a daunting task. I would suggest just buying a higher power green pointer. It will be much less frustrating. Also the IR output from these isn't anything to play with unless you have goggles that block IR.

 

[LEDSanders]

WOW

Good luck with that...

Please do some more reading first and...
PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES FOR THE WAVELENGTHS YOUR USING OR YOU WILL GO BLIND.

Check this out while your at it. How lasers work (in theory) - YouTube

 

[Morgantao]

First of all, I'm not going to use the IR laser until I have my safety goggles. I kinda like the ability to see. In any case, the laser is contained inside a closed black box, as it was when it lived in the printer.

I'm sorry if I'm not familiar with the terms and the jargon of the laser world.
I know the theory of how laser works, even though that Youtube video was cool as hell.
I called the laser diode an LED because it Emits Light, and it's a Diode. So I thought it's a kind of an LED.
Also, I don't know the difference between a dye and a crystal set, or even crystal meth. All I know is the pointer has an IR diode in it, and the beam goes through a little flat square "glass" that makes it green. Then the beam goes through a lens (Collimator).
You said aligning can be a daunting task, but all I see is that it goes through one little crystal, at 90 degrees to it's flat surface....

Now, all that aside. In THEORY, say I put the crystal in front of the Class 3b IR laser in the laser printer, would the green output be any higher than the output of the laser pointer, or will it be the same, or will the crystal burn?

Thanks for the help!

 

[LEDSanders]

Didn't mean offense I just read more before I opened my mouth. I hate sounding uneducated.
I would guess it wouldn't be worth the trouble to do what your asking.

Without an LPM (Laser power meter) to test the IR diode in your green pointer to see if it is less power than the one you harvested from the laser printer there is no telling if it would be stronger or not...

 

[JLSE]

IIRC printers use NIR in the 780nm range. Not suitable to pump the Nd:YVO4
medium in your laser. It requires 808nm, and precise alignment.

Search DPSS and how it works to give you a better idea...

 

[Morgantao]

Ah, OK.
First of all, no offense taken. I'll be the first to admit I only know the very basics of lasers and electronics. Besides, English is not my primary language, so even if I knew the right terms of everything in my first post, some might have been lost in translation.

I know the laser pointer is rated <20mW, and I read that Class 3b lasers are 0.5W (according to Wikipedia, not that you can always trust it). That's why I thought it would be about twice as strong.

But the main thing I think is that the wavelength is wrong...

Thanks for all the help!!!

 

[bloompyle]

If this is what you're referring to as the flat piece of glass that makes it green, you're way off. That's the IR filter. When the 808nm strain passes through the Nd:YVO4 crystal, it doesn't work 100%. Some IR bleeds off, the IR filter removes that from the output, so you get a pure 532nm output. I suggest you REALLY read on DPSS lasers, you're way off my friend.

How DPSS green works

 

[jcranmer]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the conversion from IR to green isn't very efficient. It may very well be that you already have more then half a watt of IR just to make that 20 mW of green.

 

[Hiemal]

I thought most pen pointers use around 300 mW of IR. :thinking:


But yeah, DPSS is a lot more complicated than pointing IR at a green tinted window. It's actually really neat. 808 nm IR is turned into 1064 nm IR through a crystal, then through KTP which effectively "doubles" the frequency of the photons by combination and then outputs 532 nm.

However, as said previously the process isn't 100% efficient and some IR photons make it through...

 

[bloompyle]

I thought most pen pointers use around 300 mW of IR. :thinking:


But yeah, DPSS is a lot more complicated than pointing IR at a green tinted window. It's actually really neat. 808 nm IR is turned into 1064 nm IR through a crystal, then through KTP which effectively "doubles" the frequency of the photons by combination and then outputs 532 nm.

However, as said previously the process isn't 100% efficient and some IR photons make it through...

Not even. I took apart 2 green newish pens, and they output barely enough to smoke electrical tape when focused to a point.

 

[JLSE]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the conversion from IR to green isn't very efficient. It may very well be that you already have more then half a watt of IR just to make that 20 mW of green.

Not usually the case.. The old leadlight 532 5mW pens used 150mW diodes running at under 100mW,
average newish 250-300mW for 20-50mW of 532, and 500mW for 50-100mW of 532.

Anything over 500mW-1W of 808 are seen in the 100-200mW 532 lasers.

All the above of course binned accordingly by the manufacturer. Even with cheap
China parts, you see 20-30% conversion rate from IR to 532.

I thought most pen pointers use around 300 mW of IR. :thinking:

300mW 808's are typically found in the 20-50mW pens and handhelds..

 

[Morgantao]

I think I'll have to dissect the green laser pointer again....
I know that some of the IR passes through with the green, as I've seen green lasers that cut black duct tape, where it was actually the IR bleeding out that was heating and burning the duct tape.

I also know what an IR filter looks like, and my cheap laser pointer doesn't have any. At least not that I could see. Maybe the inner side of the collimator lens is coated, i don't know.
As far as I saw in my laser pointer, there's the diode, the collimator, and between them a slightly whitish milky, almost clear flat "glass". In the short space between the diode and the milky "glass" there nothing but air. Same for the space between that and the collimator.
Is there a difference between pulse lasers and ummm... non pulse... lasers? because that pointer is non pulse.

Hate to sound like a complete idiot... but maybe I am one :undecided:

 

[bloompyle]

I think I'll have to dissect the green laser pointer again....
I know that some of the IR passes through with the green, as I've seen green lasers that cut black duct tape, where it was actually the IR bleeding out that was heating and burning the duct tape.

I also know what an IR filter looks like, and my cheap laser pointer doesn't have any. At least not that I could see. Maybe the inner side of the collimator lens is coated, i don't know.
As far as I saw in my laser pointer, there's the diode, the collimator, and between them a slightly whitish milky, almost clear flat "glass". In the short space between the diode and the milky "glass" there nothing but air. Same for the space between that and the collimator.
Is there a difference between pulse lasers and ummm... non pulse... lasers? because that pointer is non pulse.

Hate to sound like a complete idiot... but maybe I am one :undecided:

That's dead wrong again, sorry, but it's not the IR cutting the tape, but the green doing it sure the IR is doing it's part, but it's not solely IR An IR filter over that same laser wouldn't make any difference. The 10-25mW of IR bleed wouldn't cut the tape. You REALLY need to research and read more like we've said.

 

[jcranmer]

Not usually the case.. The old leadlight 532 5mW pens used 150mW diodes running at under 100mW,
average newish 250-300mW for 20-50mW of 532, and 500mW for 50-100mW of 532.

Anything over 500mW-1W of 808 are seen in the 100-200mW 532 lasers.

All the above of course binned accordingly by the manufacturer. Even with cheap
China parts, you see 20-30% conversion rate from IR to 532.



300mW 808's are typically found in the 20-50mW pens and handhelds..

Sorry about the misinformation. For some reason I thought the ratio of 808 to 532 was much worse then that.

@morgantao: Can you post pictures of the parts you are referring to? It's a moot point if the printer diode isn't an 808nm diode, but maybe we could still help out by providing you the correct names of the parts.

I'm actually wondering if the part you are calling a laser diode is the entire module with the crystal set inside the brass where you cant see it and the flat price of glass is actually something else.

 

[Morgantao]

That's dead wrong again, sorry, but it's not the IR cutting the tape, but the green doing it sure the IR is doing it's part, but it's not solely IR An IR filter over that same laser wouldn't make any difference. The 10-25mW of IR bleed wouldn't cut the tape. You REALLY need to research and read more like we've said.

Well... That's what people said in the comments of a video I've seen... I guess it's true what they say, you can't believe everything on the internet


Apparently I used to be a lot stronger or smarter 3 years ago... I can't seem to get the damn laser pointer open! I swear it was surprisingly easy to open when I just got it.
It's true that maybe the crystal was inside the brass module with the diode, but I can't remember exactly how it looked. And until I figure out how the heck I managed to disassemble the pointer the first time, it will remain a mystery. :yabbem: