Some sort of diffraction grating?

[pianoman2011]

@bobh: If you do, I would happily buy it from you. It would need to pass 532nm light in a line array of 8 or more dots/beams. The outer beam on either side would have to be diverging at a 30+ degree angle from the optic.

Thanks for the book link, but I just need this optic for the project I am working on, not really to get into DOEs. But don't get me wrong, I think this is all really cool It's nice to know that there is a "step-up", so to speak, from using diffraction gratings.

Thanks.

@lsrfaq:Haha nice sarcasm there... But yeah, I didn't think to call them. And thanks for all of the sources, I will have to check them all out. Unfortunately I do not have the means to make DOEs. I'm a 16 year old highschool student with not much of a budget so buying the most stable green DPSS ever created (Coherent Compass) wouldn't be possible for me same with a UV argon. Neither do I have a laser printer, or any knowledge of C programming. But thank you for the link and companies to check out!

-Jakob

 

[LSRFAQ]

Go over to Edmund Industrial optics and get a 125 line per inch transmission grating. That works out to 7-8 beams counting the 0Th order. The usual way is just to mask a normal grating down to 8 beams because with a low LPI grating, the power is NOT uniform across the orders. Its not uniform anyways, but on a high LPI graing the first 8 beams to one side of the oth order will be pretty even in power..

May I suggest a read of the free online Richardson Gratings Handbook, should be off the Newport website since they bought Richardson..

Transmission Grating Beamsplitters - Edmund Optics

Ok, they are not selling the 125 any more, but they have a 110.

Ok, I see your post about budget, in that case,
I strongly suggest you call OSLS in the morning and order a sample of the plastic before you try a expensive one... Amanda will answer her emails too. She can mail you a 4x4" square for cheap...

If you feel the need to shoot your own, read this:

http://www.holoworld.com/holo/diode.html

You can make the DOE yourself, you use a reference beam, and then 4 beamsplitters made from microscope slides , to create the object beam.. It will self double into 8 beams..

PS, here are the links for the code, its crude but it works...

http://www.icecube.wisc.edu/~shiu/PHY248_S07/Labs/holoexpt.pdf

http://www.physics.wisc.edu/news/holography-without-photography/

I'm quite sure there is a LPF member who will take a interest in that..

Good luck,

Steve

 

[hakzaw1]

check you PM- i am offering free gratings to you-HZ

 

[pianoman2011]

@lsrfaq: I will call OSLS in the morning and see what Amanda can send me. I hope that the gratings from OSLS will be as evenly-powered for the first 8 beams as the gratings from edmund optics. I took a look at the prices and WOW over $100 for a single grating! Quality goods come at high prices... Thanks for the links.

@hakzaw1: I got your PM! This is great, thank you very much!

-Jakob