Green laser durability?

I was visiting a manufacturer of lasers and it was suggested that green lasers are less durable than red lasers.

Has anyone heard anything about this?

Tom

Green solid-state lasers are inherently less durable than red ones. If you throw or drop them both, the green one could go out (quit working), while the red one would probably still work. Here's a very simple reason why:

Red diode lasers are simple in construction. There is a red-emitting laser diode on a piece of heatsink material and a lens to focus the fan-shaped light into the narrow laser beam that comes out the business end.

Green diode lasers are more complex in construction. An infrared laser diode (808nm at several hundred milliwatts typically) is mounted on a piece of heatsink material. This diode shoots into a crystal that contains the rare earth element neodymium, plus yttrium, vanadium, and oxygen (the crystal is called NdYVO4); this crystal lases at 1064nm (yes, deeper into the infrared), which then shoots into a second crystal containing potassium, titanium, and phosphorous (called KTP); this crystal doubles the frequency of the 1064nm laser light into the 532nm green that you can see. A filter that blocks infrared (808nm and 1064nm) should be present somewhere after this second crystal. The green laser light is then shot into a lens to focus it (much like the red diode laser) and viola - there's the green laser beam.

If you drop a green DPSS laser and one of these parts becomes loose or even spins in its holder, chances are you'll lose the green laser beam. Or you'll get a beam, but at a greatly reduced power compared to what you used to have. Presto, your green laser poops out!!!

I've broken my Greenie - first drop increased the fuzz around the dot. Second drop (from about 1.4 metres on to tiles) resulted in it not even lighting up.

I knew before I paid out for it that one drop would likely kill it. I was living on borrowed time for a while with it.

To be honest, after I paid with the L80 that is within 20 miles of my location I wasn't that impressed with my Greenie anyway! The trouble is that the L80 is a mother of a laser and needs a pouch it you want to carry it.

Al

I have a 4.99mW modded laser from Zbolt (my own) and a 15mW+ OEM green laser from Megalaser (loaner). I haven't dropped either one yet - and I certainly hope I don't - but they're both about the size of large pens, and I can carry them in my EDC bag if I so desire.

Somewhere in Europe, I have a ~2mW pulsed green laser (that I bought from a CPF member), and I'm pretty sure the cleaners got my 10+mW green laser pointer (the one I bought from C. Anderson in Colorado a couple of years back) while I was away last year. That one still might turn up, but I kinda doubt it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

And on April 15 of this year, I ordered a 50+mW green laser from an outfit in Florida, but I've yet to receive it.

The 10+mW green laser that I think the cleaners got has been dropped (nocked off a table), but never very far and always into wires & papers & things. I don't think it's actually smacked into the floor from more than a couple of inches in height. I've never had a laser go out from a drop, but I've never dropped one far enough to hurt it.

I am willing to put good money on where the European laser is at... I had it for a while (after which I just had to get my own)

Al

[ QUOTE ]
Size15s said:
I am willing to put good money on where the European laser is at... I had it for a while (after which I just had to get my own)

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope Chris M. got to play with it too. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I don't know where it is now, or who has it, but I'm sure I'll eventually get it back. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

<font color="800080">I hope Chris M. got to play with it too.</font>

Sure I did. I took some photos too....



OK, just one - don`t want to hijack this thread.

I reckon it`s somewhere in London but that`s just a guess..... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Perhaps I need to rattle some cages...

Al

Thanks for all of the information.

I guess the guy wasn't pulling my leg. I didn't think so, but did not understand why.

Craig's information also explaines why the green laser is in a bigger package than the red one.

I tend to use the lights that I have. The possibility of dropping them is high, so I'll stick with red... for now.

Tom