My 532nm DPSS module - home built from scratch !

[Tech]

Hello everyone. I'm new to the forums.
Let me introduce myself with my DPSS laser project.

I built this project in 2007 after reading the famous Sam's laser FAQ.

Bottom line: In 2006 powerful laser pointers were very costly with few suppliers on the market. I purchased a Wicked Lasers Nexus 95mW for about $500. It died in a couple of months. The second WL 95mW lasted 1 month, fortunately I was able to repair it myself.

No reasonably priced powerful laser modules existed on the market in 2007. I needed to have 100% duty cycle for home use. So I decided to build a laser module just for fun.
All components were purchased separately from Chinese and American photonics companies.

You can see my build report at my web page:
My Home-Built DPSS Laser

Here are some pics

The module had been working quite reliably for a long time until I pushed it too hard. I pumped it by about 2 watts of IR and the output started to decline. The crystals were damaged. It produces few milliwatts of green now.
I want to purchase some new efficient crystals (MCA). I just need to find a supplier.

Your comments are appreciated

 

[lasersbee]

to the Forum....
Don't forget to read the FAQs...the Stickies
and the Forum Rules..

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PLEASE read this first...

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and this....

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Enjoy your stay...


Jerry

 

[ouch3994]

Impressive build! Are you aiming for <150 mw?

 

[ElektroFreak]

That's awesome!! I love seeing people build DPSS stuff.

MCA assemblies aren't too hard to find.. in fact, if you have a green laser pointer that no longer works you can grab the crystal set from that.. today, due to improvements in crystal quality and MCA assemblies even tiny crystal assemblies can be used to produce 100-150mW of green without damage.

Welcome to O-like,the source of good quality laser products at unbeatable price and perfect service ! sells discrete crystal sets and OC mirrors, but discrete crystals are more of a challenge to work with.

If you want to contact a manufacturer about buying MCA assemblies, CASIX is a very reputable name.

 

[Tech]

Output power was about 150 mW, may be higher, certainly higher than WL Nexus 95mW.

I already have several discrete crystals. But I would need to build a new module to be able to align them. I would need a lot of time to be able to do that. So my first choice was to use an MCA.
MCAs from cheap pointers may have poor conversion efficiency. I looked through the O-like website and didn't find them.

It's a bit of a challenge to buy crystals or any other stuff in small quantities from serious photonics suppliers like CASIX. I don't say it is impossible. I did it several times. I bought my crystals from FOCtek and it was hard, I had to call China several times and wait for a long time... Such suppliers don't want to sell you 1 piece of anything. They also have high shipping and handling charges.
I'm searching for a company that is comfortable enough to deal with small quantities.

 

[ElektroFreak]

Here's a thread you might find interesting.. the auction in the original link has ended, but I think the seller is still offering them.

http://laserpointerforums.com/f45/pico-green-laser-module-ebay-anyone-tried-69121.html