Why are 473nm DPSS laser pointers so expensive?

[Ben321]

532nm DPSS laser pointers can cost well under $100, but 473nm DPSS lasers can easily cost $500, even though they use the same DPSS techonlogy. Why is 473nm so much more expensive? Does the IR diode use a wavelength where the semiconductor material for that diode is more expensive, or does the frequency doubler crystal for the 473nm wavelength use a material that's much more expensive than the material used for the frequency doubler crystal for the 532nm wavelength? Or is it priced high just because it's considered a luxury item? Like when they first came out (so they were new tech and high price was justified) only rich people could afford them, so as more and more rich people bought them they began to be seen as luxury items, so to keep up that appearance of luxury all the manufacturers artificially keep the price high (kinda like the manufacturers of BMWs and other even more expensive luxury cars)?

 

[Unown (WILD)]

It's all in the crystals. Some harder to grow/produce

 

[Encap]

Nothing to do with luxury items. lol

In 2006 the only blue laser pointers available were the WL Spyder I that had an output of 40mW of 473nm blue and was $3499 and a 300mW 532nm of same era from WL was $1999. So prices are much lower today.

So 473nm is cheaper today however not many companies offer them because their is little if any market for them. JetLasers used to offer 473nm 50mW and 100mW at around $350+ but they stopped offering due to low demand.
Little if any consumer demand today for low power 473nm blue pointers since 445nm to 465nm blue high power low cost diodes are available.

532nm and 473nm use a similar DPSS category of technology, not the same technology.
473nm is created by a less efficient and different DPSS process, 473nm DPSS produce lower outputs than 532nm for same power pump diode and less visible/lower brightness than 532nm which is 6X brighter at same power..

Supply and demand in product marketplace. 473nm is not mass produced, different crystals, different process 946nm doubled to 473nm is less efficient only 3 to 5% compared to 1064 doubled to 532nm which is 20 to 35% efficient, more expensive to make and temperamental to fine tune, only low outputs possible in hand held lasers are all factors + low cost high power 445nm diodes became available pushing out 473nm as the only blue and now there are low cost other blue wavelengths 450nm, 462nm, 465nm

 

[Ben321]

Nothing to do with luxury items. lol

In 2006 the only blue laser pointers available were the WL Spyder I that had an output of 40mW of 473nm blue and was $3499 and a 300mW 532nm of same era from WL was $1999. So prices are much lower today.

So 473nm is cheaper today however not many companies offer them because their is little if any market for them. JetLasers used to offer 473nm 50mW and 100mW at around $350+ but they stopped offering due to low demand.
Little if any consumer demand today for low power 473nm blue pointers since 445nm to 465nm blue high power low cost diodes are available.

532nm and 473nm use a similar DPSS category of technology, not the same technology.
473nm is created by a less efficient and different DPSS process, 473nm DPSS produce lower outputs than 532nm for same power pump diode and less visible/lower brightness than 532nm which is 6X brighter at same power..

Supply and demand in product marketplace. 473nm is not mass produced, different crystals, different process 946nm doubled to 473nm is less efficient only 3 to 5% compared to 1064 doubled to 532nm which is 20 to 35% efficient, more expensive to make and temperamental to fine tune, only low outputs possible in hand held lasers are all factors + low cost high power 445nm diodes became available pushing out 473nm as the only blue and now there are low cost other blue wavelengths 450nm, 462nm, 465nm

I just got my 5mW 450nm blue diode laser pointer from Z-Bolt. I'm looking to get a cyan or yellow laser next. These are more exotic wavelengths, and I don't want one of those 50mW ones like you mentioned JetLasers made. 50mW is NOT a safe power level for a pointer, and can't even legally be designated as a pointer in the US. It needs to be designated as a "handheld laser". I'm looking for a legit 5mW cyan laser pointer (whether purely a diode laser or DPSS laser, I don't really care), and the 473nm DPSS laser pointer appears to be what I need, except for the price. A long time ago, I saw a 5mW 473nm cyan laser pointer in an Edmund Scientific catalog (it referred to it as a blue laser pointer), and the price was at least $500. YIKES! So I was wondering why it was so much more expensive than 5mW 532nm DPSS green laser pointers (which at the same time, and in the same catalog were still quite expensive, at about $300).

And I'm also wondering if the price for 473nm 5mW laser pointers is still $500+, because I can't really find any company selling them anymore at any price. period. In fact, I can only find that wavelength now used in handheld burning lasers of 500mW or more (like the ones from Wicked Lasers, and even that company stopped selling those burning lasers now I think, but lots of Chinese eBay burning lasers claiming over 10-WATTS of power now seem to be where all the 473nm DPSS lasers are).

 

[RA_pierce]

You gotta work on your internet search skills, or put more effort into it.
Try Laserglow.com.
You're not going to get yellow or blue DPSS without paying hundreds of dollars for it, barring a very lucky find. It's just how the market is (I think Encap sufficiently summarized that). For direct diode, 485 nm diodes are common and inexpensive these days. Whether any company uses them for <5 mW pointers - not that I know of. But I'm a DIY guy so I don't look for pre-built import pointers.

 

[hakzaw1]

what RA said.
the typical $4 ...5mW pen (RG orV) are never just 5 mW.
To get a true 5mW green you pay $140 (spot on 4.99 mW) & are used to calibrate other lasers and meters etc
There are many posts on this -- ~the lowest I have seen is 20mW-- the highest was 100mW .

SEEMS that many want one to give to kids or/and never use eye-protection--DUH

stick to bright LEDS.
THE PROBLEM IS THE LENS---not in the laser.... but in YOUR EYE.
5mW can harm eyes should the beam go STRAIGHT into an eye..
hk
ps
IMHO the 405s are the most dangerous. (of the 3) looks harmless BUT will burn as-is.
Worst one to have around kids.

 

[CurtisOliver]

Nothing to do with luxury items. lol

In 2006 the only blue laser pointers available were the WL Spyder I that had an output of 40mW of 473nm blue and was $3499 and a 300mW 532nm of same era from WL was $1999. So prices are much lower today.

So 473nm is cheaper today however not many companies offer them because their is little if any market for them. JetLasers used to offer 473nm 50mW and 100mW at around $350+ but they stopped offering due to low demand.
Little if any consumer demand today for low power 473nm blue pointers since 445nm to 465nm blue high power low cost diodes are available.

532nm and 473nm use a similar DPSS category of technology, not the same technology.
473nm is created by a less efficient and different DPSS process, 473nm DPSS produce lower outputs than 532nm for same power pump diode and less visible/lower brightness than 532nm which is 6X brighter at same power..

Supply and demand in product marketplace. 473nm is not mass produced, different crystals, different process 946nm doubled to 473nm is less efficient only 3 to 5% compared to 1064 doubled to 532nm which is 20 to 35% efficient, more expensive to make and temperamental to fine tune, only low outputs possible in hand held lasers are all factors + low cost high power 445nm diodes became available pushing out 473nm as the only blue and now there are low cost other blue wavelengths 450nm, 462nm, 465nm

Yep, this ^^

Efficiency is important for cost per mW. Market demand and ability to be mass produced drives down cost considerably. If there was no market for DPSS 532's they would still be expensive too.
Another thing to note is that common dpss pointers use stock crystals which have the lasing crystal and doubling crystal aligned and glued together in one convenient package. Just shine the pump laser through and you'll get green output. Very simple construction allows for very cheap construction.
473nm DPSS's are not that simple. Efficiency will suffer if alignment is rough. Parts are more expensive, and they would typically have advanced cavity setups, not the single pass that you see in pointers.

 

[Encap]

I just got my 5mW 450nm blue diode laser pointer from Z-Bolt. I'm looking to get a cyan or yellow laser next. These are more exotic wavelengths, and I don't want one of those 50mW ones like you mentioned JetLasers made. 50mW is NOT a safe power level for a pointer, and can't even legally be designated as a pointer in the US. It needs to be designated as a "handheld laser". I'm looking for a legit 5mW cyan laser pointer (whether purely a diode laser or DPSS laser, I don't really care), and the 473nm DPSS laser pointer appears to be what I need, except for the price. A long time ago, I saw a 5mW 473nm cyan laser pointer in an Edmund Scientific catalog (it referred to it as a blue laser pointer), and the price was at least $500. YIKES! So I was wondering why it was so much more expensive than 5mW 532nm DPSS green laser pointers (which at the same time, and in the same catalog were still quite expensive, at about $300).

And I'm also wondering if the price for 473nm 5mW laser pointers is still $500+, because I can't really find any company selling them anymore at any price. period. In fact, I can only find that wavelength now used in handheld burning lasers of 500mW or more (like the ones from Wicked Lasers, and even that company stopped selling those burning lasers now I think, but lots of Chinese eBay burning lasers claiming over 10-WATTS of power now seem to be where all the 473nm DPSS lasers are).

ZBolt is the only company in USA selling legal 5mW or less 450nm pens. They are good products.

The only company making a 473nm DPSS pointersen is CNI/China. You can get a CNI GLP pen for $399, 2mW 473nm from CNI Distributor LaserGlow, 4-6weeks lead time see: https://www.laserglow.com/product/aquarius-blue-laser-pointer or you can b uy a 473nm CNI Module from Dragon Lasers for $350 to $390 depending on which one smaller V series 20mW or larger PH series 10mW and make a pointer using it, see: https://www.dragonlasers.com/laser-modules/

There is a 100mW diode from Nichia listed at 3,990.00 https://www.beamq.com/100mw-473nm-nichia-laser-diode-nda4116-p-1029.html There used to be a Nichia 20mW 473nm diode now obsolete but it was expensive. $00 or so no demand now obsolete N/A.

 

[Ben321]

The laser diode at www(dot)beamq(dot)com/100mw-473nm-nichia-laser-diode-nda4116-p-1029.html claims to be a 473nm laser diode, but I thought that specific wavelength was only achievable with as a DPSS laser, which uses a frequency doubling crystal and a 946nm laser diode. I didn't know any 473nm normal lasers diodes even existed. Is the 473nm laser diode linked to above even legit? And if so, why is the diode itself several thousand dollars? I thought ordinary laser diodes were very cheap to make.

 

[CurtisOliver]

I recommend doing some more research into laser wavelengths.
The fact that you didn't know any 473nm diodes existed, then why would you think they would be cheap? They obviously are not common. When things aren't commonly available, it is higher in market price.
Different semiconductor materials lase at different wavelength bands. Getting certain semiconductors to lase at particular wavelengths is not easy, and there are gaps in spectrum. This occurs both in the lab, and what is available on a commercial market. With the commercial market having less availability.

Also that is not how a 473nm DPSS works, it is a 808nm pumping a Nd:YAG crystal to get it to lase at its weaker transition line of 946nm. Then it is doubled.

I put together this webpage to help people understand what is out there.

Wavelength Guide

Hobbyist Laser Encyclopedia

hobbyistlaserencyclopedia.weebly.com

It should be noted at one point we had affordable laser diodes that could produce 473nm. But these have since dried up. It is possible to get an extreme high hitting overdriven NDB7675 to hit 473nm. Or a another alternative the NUBM07E can just about hit 473nm at its extreme.

 

[Encap]

The laser diode at www(dot)beamq(dot)com/100mw-473nm-nichia-laser-diode-nda4116-p-1029.html claims to be a 473nm laser diode, but I thought that specific wavelength was only achievable with as a DPSS laser, which uses a frequency doubling crystal and a 946nm laser diode. I didn't know any 473nm normal lasers diodes even existed. Is the 473nm laser diode linked to above even legit? And if so, why is the diode itself several thousand dollars? I thought ordinary laser diodes were very cheap to make.

Stop living in daydream of your own design.
Do the research to be able to ask an intelligent question. Look first through the LPF forum posts, use LPF Search, use Google.
LPF is not a baby sitting service to spoon feed people answers to people who lack education, knowledge, and/or common sense.

Are you just trolling LPF with idiot level juvenile nonsense questions in general or what?

 

[Ogskylr]

532nm DPSS laser pointers can cost well under $100, but 473nm DPSS lasers can easily cost $500, even though they use the same DPSS techonlogy. Why is 473nm so much more expensive? Does the IR diode use a wavelength where the semiconductor material for that diode is more expensive, or does the frequency doubler crystal for the 473nm wavelength use a material that's much more expensive than the material used for the frequency doubler crystal for the 532nm wavelength? Or is it priced high just because it's considered a luxury item? Like when they first came out (so they were new tech and high price was justified) only rich people could afford them, so as more and more rich people bought them they began to be seen as luxury items, so to keep up that appearance of luxury all the manufacturers artificially keep the price high (kinda like the manufacturers of BMWs and other even more expensive luxury cars)?

Ima guess it’s because they are rare. I have a bunch of 488’s for sale if you want a similar color for $1 a mw. I’ve got 150-200 mw. I’m new here and not yet allowed to post for sale stuff, so I hope that doesn’t violate policy...

 

[FAP]

See: https://laserpointerforums.com/threads/jetlasers-pro-pl-e-473-an-in-depth-review.83981/

Old article, JL recently sold these but I no longer see them listed at jetlasers.org - maybe contact them?

 

[Sowee7]

the main reason 473nm dpss lasers are expensive is because
1: they dont use the same microchip composite crystals as most 532nm dpss lasers
2: the crystals are much larger
3: they need a stronger pump diode and more beam correction optics and tec's
4: the coatings can cost a lot of money