LIGHT BLUE 473nm repairs?

[lisdexia]

ok so im a newb to this page and sorry if i post this in the wrong place ..


Soooo so i have received a DPSS laser from a mate that had it in a stage laser system and its broken and he cant fix it ,, Now ive had a lil experience with lasers and allot of elec experience so im no complete beginner despite my shocking typing lol . i believe it to be a 800mW-1W 473 nm blue DPSS from when i saw it running and ill post some pics in a bit for ref , my question is: Is there any thing specific thats a common " old age " problem with blue dpss lasers that i should be looking out for in specific ill be starting component testing in the next few days eg the peltiers and so far the only way i can see to test the iR LD is with a camera in a box concealed box so i dont kill my eyeballs . theres no definitive markings on it apart from the numbers 5095084 printed on paper connected to the power cable ,, this appears to be a solid and decent unit so here begins my mission to repair it for my self any input would be appreciated .

 

[Cyparagon]

You need to be a lot more specific. Broken how? What is the model number? Who is the manufacturer? What are the power supply requirements? Do you not have a camera?

"blue laser broke" isn't gonna cut it.

 

[diachi]

You need to be a lot more specific. Broken how? What is the model number? Who is the manufacturer? What are the power supply requirements? Do you not have a camera?

"blue laser broke" isn't gonna cut it.

Some pictures of what you have would be helpful on top of a more complete description.

 

[lisdexia]

Everything appart from broken how i have answerd above .. Its powering on but not lasing . Theres no definitive details on it eg mod# or brand . And ill be putting pics up soon once i can get time to down scale the buggers for this forrum

 

[Alaskan]

Dig up some pics Cyp.

 

[lisdexia]

heres some pics

 

[lisdexia]

So initial tests i have 2.18V going to the ld .

 

[Alaskan]

Good boy.

 

[lisdexia]

So tests with an ir camera confirm the ir diode is operating and the light path is through the front assembly's . Now im stumped .

 

[lisdexia]

All optics , wave modifing rod and partial murrors appear to be complete and un affected . Any suggestions for what else to search for?

 

[Alaskan]

As I am sure you are well aware of, only newbies and trolls pretending to be newbies double post.

 

[lisdexia]

Double post? And newbie i may be but i joind this site hoping for some possible advice and not to play troll hunter

 

[CurtisOliver]

It could be a number of different things with those DPSS's. The most likely is a crystal misalignment as the IR diode is still operating. As you know, do not observe the IR. Do you see any signs of blue emissions at all?
Also are you sure it is around 800-1000mW of 473nm. If it is then that is one expensive laser.

 

[lisdexia]

na no sighn of any blue emissions .. ive encapsulated the laser in a cardboard box for operating powered tests with a sony ccd EVI robot camera with huuuuge zoom in the box closed so i can look around and zoom in .. so yeah aware of iR laser dangers


as for nonalignment of the rod or optics any suggestions to correct ???
cheers for a serious answer

 

[CurtisOliver]

Aligning the crystals is a difficult task. It requires a lot of patience and fine tuning. There are members on here that have done the job of realigning, and would probably be more than happy to guide you through it. But first it important to understand what the crystals are and how your laser actually works. As you know, the 473 is a dpss. You've already identified that there is a pump diode which will be at 808nm. Next there will be a Nd:YAG crystal that when pumped by the 808, will produce the 946nm line. Lastly you have a NLO crystal, which will frequency double the 946nm to produce 473nm. The NLO has very strict phase matching to comply with otherwise you will get no or very little 473nm output. The problem is we don't know if any of the crystals are damaged or if it is the crystals at all. If the pump diode is not outputting enough then the lasing threshold will not be met for the 473nm to occur. I own a 473 myself, but have never had to realign the crystals.

 

[Alaskan]

Double post? And newbie i may be but i joind this site hoping for some possible advice and not to play troll hunter

OK, don't double post then.