Diodes in lasers

[JerzyDevil]

How many diodes are in a laser pointer? Is there a chamber and mirrors as in other types of lasers with exited electrons and photons interacting?

 

[pseudolobster]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_diode

Laser *pointers*, generally speaking, all use diode lasers. it would be silly to try and make one with a gas laser. Gas lasers work using the same principle as a florescent light, it's a tube of gas through which electricity is passed, exciting the gas into plasma, emitting light.
Diode lasers have no tubes, no gas, no high voltage... they work using the same principle as an LED... a doped semiconductor emits light as a side effect of impurities on the substrate... instead of being a big, bulky glass tube filled with low pressure gasses and a bunch of mirrors and optics to get it to lase, it's a tiny silicon chip that when voltage is applied, it lases. these are smaller than a grain of rice, so they're a lot better suited to being used in handheld pointers.
As far as how many, there's usually one. Two laser diodes in a pointer and you'd have two lasers. I've seen some red/green pointers for sale, in those, there's two diodes, one red and one infrared (to be multiplied to green).

oh and by the way, this is the Optics forum... it's for questions about lenses and mirrors. Your question would be more suited to the General board or the Sciences of Lasers forum.

 

[Spyderz20x6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_diode

Two laser diodes in a pointer and you'd have two lasers. I've seen some red/green pointers for sale, in those, there's two diodes, one red and one infrared (to be multiplied to green).

Are there actually lasers that have a red and an IR diode?

 

[pseudolobster]

[quote author=pseudolobster link=1212962754/0#1 date=1212964603]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_diode

Two laser diodes in a pointer and you'd have two lasers. I've seen some red/green pointers for sale, in those, there's two diodes, one red and one infrared (to be multiplied to green).

Are there actually lasers that have a red and an IR diode?[/quote]

yeah sure.
here's one: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/lights/657a/
and here's another: http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1212787199

 

[Spyderz20x6]

Sweet!

 

[Switch]

oh and by the way, this is the Optics forum... it's for questions about lenses and mirrors. Your question would be more suited to the General board or the Sciences of Lasers forum.

And light....don't forget light, for the mirrors and lenses. I though someone beat me to the green+red yellow pointer.And please don't pollute the science board with non-scientifical threads. :
And don't forget about solid state lasers.