The most familiar range is the visible spectrum – ranging from the short violet wavelengths to the the long red wavelengths. Most humans can see between 400nm and 700nm. Beyond the range of our vision exist shorter wavelengths of ultraviolet light, and longer wavelengths of infrared light. The higher the frequency of a photon, the more energy it has. World Star Tech carries laser diodes ranging from the ultraviolet 375nm to the infrared 1064nm.
The output power of a laser is the maximum power of the light exiting the the laser housing. All World Star Tech lasers have their output power rated after passing through any installed optical assemblies. The power is measured according to CDRH specifications.
Each laser is classified by measuring the amount of optical power that would enter a 7mm aperture located at a distance of 20cm from the laser source. Our line lasers have a lower classification rating because the laser power is spread along the length of the line, rather than focusing on a single small point.
Typical lifetimes of laser diode modules are 25,000 to 50,000 hours. If the laser diode temperature rises beyond the maximum operating temperature the long-term performance may degrade significantly, up to and including complete failure. If the laser diode’s operating temperature is reduced by about 10 degrees, the lifetime will statistically double.
Laser module lifetimes can be extended significantly by maintaining the case temperature at the low end of the operating temperature range. Heat sinks are recommended and must be used if the laser is operating constantly. Operating the laser modules at the low end of the recommended voltage range will also help to extend the lifetime of the laser.
The wavelength of a laser diode module shifts about 2 nanometers with every 10 degree rise in temperature.
Yes, TTL series lasers can be operated in CW mode. For CW operation, just connect the white TTL wire to the red positive voltage wire.
Boresight/pointing accuracy is a measure of the angular difference between the beam propagating axis (where the laser beam is pointing) and the mechanical axis (where the laser housing is pointing). Pointing stability is a measure of how much the beam alignment drifts over a period of time.
The direction of the output beam of a laser is subject to some beam pointing fluctuations, which in some cases can cause significant problems. Examples of where large pointing fluctuations are a problem are when the beam must be coupled into a single-mode fiber, or when the beam must precisely hit a target at a large distance. For such reasons, a quantitative measure for the beam pointing stability is important.
In a weapon boresighting system for aircraft and vehicles, an optical square is oriented to a fixed reference line on the vehicle and provides the directionality of a pair of orthogonally positioned of laser illuminated retroreflective catadioptric collimators attached to said optical square whose outputs are directed via one or more deviators or periscopes to a pair of retroreflective catadioptric receivers orthogonally attached to a second optical square positioned at the weapon to be boresighted, each said receiver imaging the laser on a position sensitive sensor, the outputs of the latter indicating the pitch roll and yaw condition at the weapon.
Beam divergence specifies how much a beam spreads out over distance. All our beam divergence specifications are full angle values. The beam divergence of an electromagnetic beam is an angular measure of the increase in beam diameter or radius with distance from the optical aperture or antenna aperture from which the electromagnetic beam emerges. The term is relevant only in the “far field”, away from any focus of the beam. Practically speaking, however, the far field can commence physically close to the radiating aperture, depending on aperture diameter and the operating wavelength.
Beam divergence is often used to characterize electromagnetic beams in the optical regime, for cases in which the aperture from which the beam emerges is very large with respect to the wavelength. That said, it is also used in the Radio Frequency (RF) regime for cases in which the antenna is operating in the so-called optical region and is likewise very large relative to a wavelength.
Beam divergence usually refers to a beam of circular cross section, but not necessarily so. A beam may, for example, have an elliptical cross section, in which case the orientation of the beam divergence must be specified, for example with respect to the major or minor axis of the elliptical cross section.
The commercial and industrial use of laser diodes has dramatically increased recently. The optical characteristics, small size, and ruggedness of laser diodes have allowed many new uses to be commercialized.
The output of laser diodes is very bright considering their small size. Today, hundreds of watts of power are commercially available from laser diodes operating under continuous wave (CW) conditions in packages as small as a few cubic inches. This characteristic makes these devices suitable for cable TV transmission, high definition TV (HDTV) development, and medical applications.
In addition, compared to other types of lasers, laser diodes use very little power. Most laser diodes operate with voltage drops of less than 2 V with power requirements determined by their current setting. Overall efficiencies greater than 30% are typical in the case of laser diodes. Since laser diodes are made of semiconductor materials, they do not require the fragile glass enclosures or mirror alignment typical of gas lasers. The resulting ruggedness and small size allow laser diodes to be used in environments and spaces in which other types of lasers cannot operate.
Coherence and single wavelength characteristics of laser diodes enable the outputs of these devices to be focused to a diffraction limited spot size. The size of the resultant spot is dependent on the wavelength of the laser – the shorter the wavelength of light, the smaller the size of the spot that can be generated. Operation at shorter blue and UV wavelengths makes smaller spot sizes possible, consequently allowing more information to be stored on optical disks at a higher density.
Another advantage of laser diodes is that they can be directly modulated at high frequencies. By modulating the drive current, the output of the laser diode is modulated with frequencies up to several GHz in high-speed data communications.
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