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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Q: why are green lasers so inexpensive?

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I think I understand the economics behind "cheap" red and blue lasers e.g. blu-ray and every barcode reader at WalMart.

Question is: What supports green laser manufacturing economies? My mind reels with military and conspiracy theories.

Your thoughts?

Bogey out...


p.s. Newbie sez "Thank you LPF for providing a CandlePowerForums junkie another out...Bogey out"
 





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There actually isn't anything that they are worth harvesting from, because they are so popular (you can get them at Radio Shack), that the cheapest way to get them is to just buy a module (or pointer, or handheld).

I guess the answer is hobbyists, and enough interest that they are mass produced
 
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ahhh, intelligent discourse - thank you!

<edit>...I guess the answer is hobbyists, and enough interest that they are mass produced

that's my problem.

I just can't imagine that Enthusiast's money can drive the cost of greenies to where they are today.

I'm wondering if someone's building smart ordinance that requires this much volume?
 
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ahhh, intelligent discourse - thank you!



that's my problem.

I just can't imagine that Enthusiast's money can drive the cost of greenies to where they are today.

I'm wondering if someone's building smart ordinance that requires this much volume?

Green is near the human peak sensitivity. That means that mW per mW, green appears the brightest. Because of that, it appeals to astronomers, and can be bright even at safe powers, unlike 405nm.
 
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Green is near the human peak sensitivity. That means that mW per mW, green appears the brightest. Because of that, it appeals to astronomers, and can be bright even at safe powers, unlike 405nm.

Heh... depends on your definition of safe:p
 

Ablaze

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mumble mumble mumble... but I like the link.
 
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They are so inexpensive because they are mass produced, when you make 10,000 of anything per hour you better be selling it cheap :crackup:
 

strik3

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in the end does it really matter? lower costs for parts means more lasers for us and in a way more money for them to produce new items for us to purchase.
 
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They are so inexpensive because they are mass produced, when you make 10,000 of anything per hour you better be selling it cheap :crackup:

exactly my point: Reds and Blues have broad application, I'm wondering what application(s) could drive the cost of Green down to where it is. I don't see greenies in barcode scanners or blu-ray or DVD burners...

Who's paying for all the development and manufacturing costs for greenies? I don't think Enthusiasts and Astronomers alone can support these price points.

RGB Projectors? Green sights on every M15?

Thanks to all for humoring my inquiry.
 
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in the end does it really matter? lower costs for parts means more lasers for us and in a way more money for them to produce new items for us to purchase.

In the big picture...hell no, it doesn't matter much. Just making conversation.

That said, large-scale demand of Laser products will influence the future of our hobby.

Again, thanks for your discourse...Bogey out
 
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That said, large-scale demand of Laser products will influence the future of our hobby.

Again, thanks for your discourse...Bogey out

Isnt that the way everything works? Supply, and demand.

There are a million "no real use, except mild entertainment" items that flood the market every year.

The main reason they can afford to bring the costs down are child, and women labor. And the fact some people will work for $10 a week. The reason prices dropped was they figured out how to produce a cheap green laser. Most people dont care about quality, they want cheap prices. We all know how hard it is to an actual 5mW laser. Thats because they just pump these out, and bin them according to their power level.

You're also not considering the world market for lasers. Only recently has the rest of the world seen cheap green power. These have been "toys" over there far longer than here. Its not laser enthusiasts that drive the market, its the people that like the pretty light. And, as been said, green is the brightest beam, and obviously the most popular. Those little red key chain lasers sold multimillion units. Think about how many greens are sold just because they can see the actual beam. Then include the group that get off on the fact it can actually burn. Add in the music industry, ect, ect, ect.

The market is huge, and they have cheap labor. Thats your answer.
 
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In the big picture...hell no, it doesn't matter much. Just making conversation.

That said, large-scale demand of Laser products will influence the future of our hobby.

Again, thanks for your discourse...Bogey out

I believe the answer is that we DON'T have mass production of green diodes. We have mass production of green LASERS. Green lasers are made by taking a high power IR laser diode at 808 nm which pumps a tiny block of Nd:YVO4* generating light at 1,064 nm which feeds a KTP intracavity frequency doubler crystal to produce the green beam at 532 nm

Dissection of Green Laser Pointer

So they are using mass production IR laser diodes to make the inexpensive green lasers.

*Neodymium Doped Yttrium Orthvanadate(Nd:YVO4) Crystal
 
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I believe the answer is that we DON'T have mass production of green diodes. We have mass production of green LASERS. Green lasers are made by taking a high power IR laser diode at 808 nm which pumps a tiny block of Nd:YVO4* generating light at 1,064 nm which feeds a KTP intracavity frequency doubler crystal to produce the green beam at 532 nm

Dissection of Green Laser Pointer

So they are using mass production IR laser diodes to make the inexpensive green lasers.

*Neodymium Doped Yttrium Orthvanadate(Nd:YVO4) Crystal

agreed, IR diodes have a huge application base

agreed, diode binning creates a huge supply of low-spec product not suitable for (e.g.) targeting systems or other high performance application

so the working theory is that Enthusiasts and Astronomers create enough demand to re-purpose the IR oversupply?

sounds good...any other thoughts?

thanks for the feedback - Bogey
 




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