Wavelength Division Multiplexing

[Cyparagon]

Video by username planters, here and on PL

So basically what he's doing is using prisms to combine (not to scale, color difference greatly exaggerated):

Of course, the difference in angle of refraction is so low that you need a lot of distance for these beams to converge. So NO, you cannot put this in a pointer. I think he could do away with one prism though:

 

[rhd]

If memory serves, this is the basic principal that MBDA uses in their 40 kW laser gun.

 

[crazyspaz]

I have been following his thread on PL. I am honestly surprised he got such effective results! Pretty cool to see, for sure. I do wonder if it will ever be practical for use in projectors, though.

 

[Alaskan]

When you write this method is not suitable for a pointer due to the distance needed, roughly what amount of distance do you think is needed?

 

[Cyparagon]

That depends on the prism, prism angle, and the distance between wavelengths. Several feet minimum.

 

[Alaskan]

Thanks, I could live with three to four feet, but longer than that and difficult to hold up. I once happened upon an article where someone had built a multiplexer out of a fiber optic piece of glass with a bubble in it where the fiber was expanded by heat.

 

[lazeristasUVISIR]

If memory serves, this is the basic principal that MBDA uses in their 40 kW laser gun.

Or maybe not:

MBDA's laser weapon destroys artillery models
MBDA said that its favored approach was to combine multiple fiber lasers in relatively simple fashion, using both a common output aperture and focusing element.

Alternative approaches include coherent or spectral beam combining, but these would require a more complex optical design and would likely prove difficult to achieve with off-the-shelf industrial laser sources.

The link High power Laser directed energy weapons becoming feasible through beam combining technologies has a scheme of the system.

In the prism system it is necessary to take care of polarization and prism coatings. Otherwise the combining efficiency can drop significantly.