Alaskan
0
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2014
- Messages
- 12,031
- Points
- 113
OK,
I've googled and searched for hours for an answer and can't quite find what I'm looking for, so posting the question here. Trying to choose which is better when considering a relatively low power single mode blue laser diode such as the PL450B, or the Nichia NDB7875 multi-mode high power diode, which of the two will produce the highest intensity spot at a great distance, when considering divergence?
My understanding is when using a single mode diode it can actually out-perform a multi-mode diode at a great distance due to less beam-spread. However, there must be a trade-off between power too, anyone have any idea how to figure this? Will a 3 watt NDB7875 still deliver more power for a given area at a long distance than a single mode laser which has 1/10 the power output? I don't know the divergence which can be had from a single-mode PL450B diode or what the divergence can be for the NDB7875 multi-mode to be able to get a rough idea, I suppose that is all I really need to know to figure this out.
Why?
I'm still working on the idea of combining the output of several individual laser diodes, each with their own collimation to produce a brighter light when viewed at a distance. My reasoning: Since there will be several laser diodes all arranged together shooting beams of light out in parallel, each beam will slowly diverge which will of course cause all of them to merge into one another but when they merge or spread out into one another, their powers will add together to produce a brighter light, as viewed from many miles away. This is my assumption and why I want to use multiple laser beams instead of one, well that and I can't just go buy a 25 watt 445nm laser diode.
I'm also constrained by the cost of the devices used, so that is also a factor. Maybe I can get more power per square inch etc. using single mode but how many of them are needed to produce the same amount of power a multi-mode laser diode can produce? Less of them, more? I'm guessing I'd need more single-mode 200mw PL450B diodes to be able to compete with what a high power 3 watt NDB7875 can do, but this is wholly a guess without knowing more about the possible divergences between the two (without using a beam expander).
Anyone here with experience with either of these diodes who can comment on the divergence they were able to get?
I've googled and searched for hours for an answer and can't quite find what I'm looking for, so posting the question here. Trying to choose which is better when considering a relatively low power single mode blue laser diode such as the PL450B, or the Nichia NDB7875 multi-mode high power diode, which of the two will produce the highest intensity spot at a great distance, when considering divergence?
My understanding is when using a single mode diode it can actually out-perform a multi-mode diode at a great distance due to less beam-spread. However, there must be a trade-off between power too, anyone have any idea how to figure this? Will a 3 watt NDB7875 still deliver more power for a given area at a long distance than a single mode laser which has 1/10 the power output? I don't know the divergence which can be had from a single-mode PL450B diode or what the divergence can be for the NDB7875 multi-mode to be able to get a rough idea, I suppose that is all I really need to know to figure this out.
Why?
I'm still working on the idea of combining the output of several individual laser diodes, each with their own collimation to produce a brighter light when viewed at a distance. My reasoning: Since there will be several laser diodes all arranged together shooting beams of light out in parallel, each beam will slowly diverge which will of course cause all of them to merge into one another but when they merge or spread out into one another, their powers will add together to produce a brighter light, as viewed from many miles away. This is my assumption and why I want to use multiple laser beams instead of one, well that and I can't just go buy a 25 watt 445nm laser diode.
I'm also constrained by the cost of the devices used, so that is also a factor. Maybe I can get more power per square inch etc. using single mode but how many of them are needed to produce the same amount of power a multi-mode laser diode can produce? Less of them, more? I'm guessing I'd need more single-mode 200mw PL450B diodes to be able to compete with what a high power 3 watt NDB7875 can do, but this is wholly a guess without knowing more about the possible divergences between the two (without using a beam expander).
Anyone here with experience with either of these diodes who can comment on the divergence they were able to get?
Last edited: