He-Ne inventor dies....

[Schrecken_Licht]

Just a news item here:

http://www.photonics.com/content/news/2008/July/7/92305.aspx

 

[Switch]

:'( To bad he won't be able to see the future evolution of lasers.

Btw, "...les of light, sending them out in a concentrated and continuous infrared beam." I didn't know they made IR HeNes.... :-/

 

[Schrecken_Licht]

Actually I think I did read somewhere else that the first He-Ne was IR.....visible red came later.

 

[Switch]

Actually I think I did read somewhere else that the first He-Ne was IR.....visible red came later.  

well that's what the article says too.... It's amazing how you can get so many colour with the same gasses.Is the concentration different or the pressure? Or the current going through? :-/

 

[diachi]

yeah I always wondered that too, like how you could get red green yellow and IR from the same gases

 

[Helioplasma]

you've probably seen the whole list of possible laser wavelenghts here :

http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/laserioi.htm#ioicav
in the table : laser wavelenghts

i.e from He-Ne Ag =>224nm
to He-Ne => 3391nm

 

[Seoul_lasers]

yeah I always wondered that too, like how you could get red green yellow and IR from the same gases

Every gas/element has it's own unique spectra -- Argon example has a blue, green,orange, red and a deep UV line.
Elements all have their own footprints. Quantum physics baby

 

[Switch]

[quote author=Diachi link=1215542316/0#4 date=1215600694]yeah I always wondered that too, like how you could get red green yellow and IR from the same gases

Every gas/element has it's own unique spectra -- Argon example has a blue, green,orange, red  and a deep UV line.  
Elements all have their own footprints. Quantum physics baby  [/quote]

well something's definetly completely different about green or yellow HeNes since they cost hundreds of times more than the red ones.....

 

[Schrecken_Licht]

I think some of it has to do with the internal mirrors....for instance, some argon lasers are single-line and others are multi-line, but all the lines are there in the single line laser - but the mirrors are set up only to isolate the dominant 488nm line and not emit the others. Probably works the same way for other gas lasers, and perhaps for solid state lasers.

 

[Switch]

I think some of it has to do with the internal mirrors....for instance, some argon lasers are single-line and others are multi-line, but all the lines are there in the single line laser - but the mirrors are set up only to isolate the dominant 488nm line and not emit the others.  Probably works the same way for other gas lasers, and perhaps for solid state lasers.  

Yea but there isn't such a big difference between a multiline and a single line argon , pricewise.I know red HeNes also have a ~3000nm IR line but I don't think they also produce yellow and green. :-/

 

[MarioMaster]

i think the price is just high because of supply and demand - people want them for collections and whatnot but there aren't a ton of them around anymore - it's just a different coating on the output coupling and high reflective mirrors at the end of the tube

 

[heruursciences]

Green and yellow he-nes cost so much because the gas fill requires helium 3, and the gas fill pressure/ratios has a very narrow working range.

 

[diachi]

Is helium 3 like normal helium only it has an extra neutron ?