Is it possible to achieve the same power density using an LED as with a laser diode?

[Cyparagon]

I've seen a few confocal microscopy teardowns, and the power is typically in the range of a few 10s of mW. They don't scan a line in one dimension, they scan a dot in 2 dimensions. Why have you chosen a line approach?

 

[ArKi]

The short answer is that we think that we can build a faster scanning system using a line.

 

[icecruncher]

Hi everyone!

I'm currently working on a project where I would like to focus a light source into a line. We are trying to achieve the highest power power density, and I was just wondering if it would be possible to use an LED, SLD, or some other light source to achieve the same power density as one could with say, a 1W laser diode?

Assume you can using any number of focusing optics to achieve this power density. Also, it would be good to know if you use what power/brightness for an LED is equivalent to say, a 1W laser diode if you can use any focusing optics?

It can be done with the right source, but having the resources of a government helps

Concentrating Solar Power | SEIA

 

[Atomicrox]

There are 520nm ($200 if you want 1W, which I think is way too much, about $30 for 80mW) and 488nm (about $1000) diodes available. The 561nm will have to be DPSS and won't be cheap.