Anyone into Holography ?

I have been in interested in holography for about 10 years now but never took the plunge due to the expense.
I have now refreshed my interest in starting a small Holography studio due to the possibly cheaper equipment costs and better cash flow, and was wondering if anyone here was into holography and could give me a helping hand.

My main issue at the moment is where to buy all the equipment, i.e. high power diode laser ( suitable for holography ), lenses, mirrors, filters, beamsplitters etc.. and how much it's all going to cost.

regarding the films/plates, i read somewhere that DuPont have released UV curing photopolymer plates but could not find any further information, prices or even where to buy them, these plates would be great as they would be excellent for reflection holograms and be cheaper/less messy as they would need no or few chemicals to develop. If i could find these plated i would set up specifically for them.

amy input/help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I don't know, but you might also try alt.lasers newsgroup. Some long-timers and pros hang out there.

A little over 10 years ago I did holograms (I quit when my first child was born because I knew I wouldn't have that much un-interrupted time again).

My setup was based on Jon Iovine's Homemade Holograms book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0830634606/103-9745751-6273463?v=glance&n=283155)

My isolation table was 12x48" made from two layers of 3/4" plywood screwed together, floating on two small inner tubes. I had a sheet of steel screwed to the plywood because I used Iovine's magentic holders idea (which worked very well).

I had a HeNe laser (sub-5 mW) and and got decent results on the 2.5" square glass plates, but it was marginal when I used 4x5" sheets. Then I got into exposures in the 30 second range and my laser (or setup) wasn't stable enough and I'd get dead areas where the sheet moved during exposure. It was clamped between glass in my homemade holder and I think the heat of my hands warmed the glass up enough that it moved during exposure as it cooled down.

I have one here at my desk and it still looks good (two little toy spacemen on the moon* with the Canadian flag behind them, and my name on the ground right behind the glass (so people couldn't doubt that I made it)). It was a cool hobby.

Greg

* white landscaping rocks behind the spacemen that glitter nicely as you move the hologram arond.

You'll definitely want to choose a gas laser (helium-neon, etc) over a diode laser because gas lasers have a much longer coherence length than diode lasers - long coherence lengths are very desireable in holography.

After I got out of holography I still read stuff about it (usenet and web pages) and it seemed some people were successfully making holograms with (red) laser pointer diodes.

Craig is right: you do need a laser (gas or diode) that has significant coherence length (a few inches at least) or you won't be able to make any holograms with signficant depth (and you will also run into problems when you do multi-beam holograms (where you split the beam and it takes two paths to the film/object)).

Greg

Thanks for the response guys.

i have that book but im guessing it's a bit old now. I am going to build that same table but with a bit more weight so it's more stable.

So where do i buy the gas laser and stuff ?

Thanks

I got mine from MWK (http://www.mwklasers.com). It was a surplus tube, rated 3.5 to 4.5 mW and I bought a new powersupply for it from them. I mounted in a black plumbing tube and put the power supply in a Radio Shack box with a key switch.

I bought a short focal length lens and short focal length front surface mirror (I think from them) and ended up mostly using the mirror lens. It was easier to find a perfectly clean spot and get a nice clean beam without all the little whorls that dust causes.

I also bought some front surface 1x1" mirrors from them and mounted them to magnets to use with my table. And I bought a 16 gauge steel strip, 1" wide by a few feet long and cut it into 6" chunks then bent the chunks into a "L" shapes that were 4" high and 2" wide, again to use with the magnets.

I can't remember where I got the plate/film from but I bough the developing/bleaching chemicals from the Photographers Formulary.

One thing I learned, that I never read in any book, is that with plates it is important to blacken the edges before using them. Otherwise some of the beam will get in the edge and bounce back and forth an leave an image of the reflections in the hologram. So I would tape the edges of the plate with 1/8" black draftman's tape (do they still make such a thing?) in the pitch dark, then clamp it in my holder and then make the exposure.

Another thing I never saw in a book was about blackening behind the hologram. The books usually talk about using flat black paint on the back or black paper. But this causes a diffuse reflection that reduces the contrast. So I started painting the backs of my holograms with paint made for RC cars (where you paint the inside of a clear body and it looks good from the outside). The glossy black RC paint works great, since it reflects at the same angle as the front side of the glass. So from every other angle it is very black. My holograms still look as good as new 10+ years later so obviously it didn't affect the emulsion*.

Another thing I built was a shutter from a Radio Shack analog panel meter. I think it is in Iovine's book. Drill a hole through the meter and attach a black disk to the pointer so that it normally covers the hole. Then you can do your exposure without worrying about moving your isolation table.

I can look up where I got my plates from if you want. They were Agfa ones so I'm sure they aren't make any more.

Greg

* the paint did shrink the emulsion right away because they aren't very bright when illuminated by the laser. But they are intended to be viewed with white light any way.

Here's the page I remember seeing about laser diode holography: http://www.holoworld.com/holo/diode.html

Greg

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I was very eye-careful while doing my holography. While setting up mirrors, lens, etc I always used a beam attenuator on my laser (even though it was sub-5 mW). It cut the beam to 1/10 of normal (according to light meter) so even if I got the un-spread beam in the eye I would have been safe. When moving things around during setup it is easy to get the beam going off of the table so being safe is important.

The rest of the time I had a 100% beam-block in front of the laser (it was left on for 1/2 hour plus to stabilize) plus my shutter was off.

Greg

I have been looking around and found out that gas lasers are too expensive at the levels that i require ( 30 - 50mW ) I have also found diode lasers that are made especially for holography and have circular beams and over 2 meters coherence lengths but they are still a bit costly.

Do you have a specific reason for needing 30-50 mW?

I'd be interested in seeing a link to the diode lasers.

Thanks - Greg

Amonra said:

I have been in interested in holography for about 10 years now but never took the plunge due to the expense.
I have now refreshed my interest in starting a small Holography studio due to the possibly cheaper equipment costs and better cash flow, and was wondering if anyone here was into holography and could give me a helping hand.

My main issue at the moment is where to buy all the equipment, i.e. high power diode laser ( suitable for holography ), lenses, mirrors, filters, beamsplitters etc.. and how much it's all going to cost.

regarding the films/plates, i read somewhere that DuPont have released UV curing photopolymer plates but could not find any further information, prices or even where to buy them, these plates would be great as they would be excellent for reflection holograms and be cheaper/less messy as they would need no or few chemicals to develop. If i could find these plated i would set up specifically for them.

amy input/help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Click to expand...

You can get a basic kit that uses a diode laser from Integraf - I think the website is www.holokits.com. Also, www.holographyforum.com has people that do this kind of stuff. There are often good deals on ebay for lasers. I think Sam Goldwasser also has some which may be suitable. I've had more consistent results with the hene laser - the diode ones work well too, but you have to be careful the diode isn't in a mode hop zone, or you'll get "sliced bread" holograms. I've experimented with photopolymer kits, but have had poor results. Your milage may vary

Thanks for the reminder. Integraf is where I got my film/plates way back when.

The holography forum link just looks like an advertising page. I couldn't find a forum there. And when I tried to leave that page it asked me if I wanted to set it as my home page (No!!!).

Greg

here's a link for the laser i have found http://www.analogtechnologies.com/products.htm click on the mod-hop-free laser modules link.

I need 30 - 50mW of power because i want to shoot 8" x 10" plates or larger, also because photopolymer plates need more energy for good results, maybe that is why Tedpark had poor results with a he-ne laser ( 5mw ? ) where did you get the photopolymer kits ?

Intrgraf kits are toys and are not what im looking for. If i do this i want to do it big in a sense that i want to make big size holograms, since my aim is to eventually open a holographic art gallery.
My interest in holography got re-sparked when i was discussing with a photographer ( my cousin ) that is trying to sell his prints. His main problem is that there are too many photographers trying to sell their prints i.e. big competition. but there are so few holograms on sale around the world i.e. very little competition and a good possibility of growth. i had already thought of this ten years ago but had no funds, but if i do this with my cousin it is easier.

Now if i made 4"x5" holograms they might be nice and create a little interest but if they were larger the WOW effect and the interest will be much greater.

So at this point im looking for the best set up that will allow me to produce large size reflection holograms.
through my searching i have found that dichromate gelatin and photopolymer plates produce the brightest and most easily viewable reflection holograms. DCG is hard to find/make/develop and the Dupont photopolymer is a relatively new product which develops/cures with UV light thus making it easier and reduces costs and developing errors, but i have still been unable to find a seller or further info for these plates.

i therefore need to find a 635nm laser ( 30 - 50mW ), variable beam splitters, spatial filter, 14" collimating mirror, timed shutter, bi-concave lenses, front surface mirrors, a light meter and a source for the films/plates.
I need all of these at a reasonable price ( i.e. as cheap as possible ) to make this idea a reality.
if you guys know of any sources of the above it would be much appreciated.
Thanks

greg_in_canada said:

Thanks for the reminder. Integraf is where I got my film/plates way back when.

The holography forum link just looks like an advertising page. I couldn't find a forum there. And when I tried to leave that page it asked me if I wanted to set it as my home page (No!!!).

Greg

Click to expand...

Bah - I screwed up - it's www.holographyforum.org sorry about that, the other one is just some evil websquatter

Thanks for the link.

I'm afraid I don't know any good sources. Maybe the Holography Forum is worth checking out.

Good luck - Greg

Amonra said:

here's a link for the laser i have found http://www.analogtechnologies.com/products.htm click on the mod-hop-free laser modules link.

if you guys know of any sources of the above it would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Click to expand...

Yep i have been looking through that forum but with holography being what it is the forum is not very lively and most of the interesting stuff for sale is not there any longer

The_LED_Museum said:

You'll definitely want to choose a gas laser (helium-neon, etc) over a diode laser because gas lasers have a much longer coherence length than diode lasers - long coherence lengths are very desireable in holography.

Click to expand...

What you really want these days is a DPSS laser like a Compass 315M. These things have a coherence length of 50 meters (!). The downside is that, at the 100mW power level, they cost $4,000 used.

enLIGHTenment said:

What you really want these days is a DPSS laser like a Compass 315M. These things have a coherence length of 50 meters (!). The downside is that, at the 100mW power level, they cost $4,000 used.

Click to expand...

Actually on ebay they are usually around $1500 for head and driver. I had picked one head up for $250 some while ago, and I heard of another person to have paid $300 for a complete system very recently. So being on the lookup with patience may well be worthwhile.

Moreover, http://holographyforum.org/phpBB2/index.php is the best forum there is for holography and I don't think it's unfrequented; in fact a lot of amateur holographers contribute, and there is even a great wiki in the making that is supposed to help the beginner will all sorts of info.