Jumping right out and buying a diode laser
As diode lasers become available in more and more wavelengths, a cost effective solution involving laser technology is seemingly right around the corner. One must still proceed with caution and always keep in mind what your performance goals are.
As diode lasers become available in more and more wavelengths, a cost effective solution involving laser technology is seemingly right around the corner. One must still proceed with caution and always keep in mind what your performance goals are.
Q-Switched laser reliability
Since moving to a diode pumped technology Q-Switched lasers have become increasingly more dependable. It is not surprising to hear that even a 355nm Q-Switched laser with 10W, 20W or even 30W of average power has years of daily operation on the system without seeing any drop in performance. And with newer optical technology capable of reducing organic photodeposition on the deeper UV components, this reliability is soon going to emerge at 266nm and even 213nm (209nm Nd:YLF). Cost has also gone down for the diode pumped Q-Switched lasers, although lamp costs on the higher energy systems is still significantly lower, the benefit from better mode quality and reliability makes the newer diode pumped technology more attractive. For high average power and moderate energy pulses, Advanced Optowave has the best balance between cost and performance. There are a few others that can make a claim for comparison, but we have not had the level of positive feedback from customers as what we received about Advanced Optowave. Each application is unique, so a thorough understanding of the process is needed before we can make a recommendation. Please contact us at applications.support@claserapps.com to discuss your requirements.
Since moving to a diode pumped technology Q-Switched lasers have become increasingly more dependable. It is not surprising to hear that even a 355nm Q-Switched laser with 10W, 20W or even 30W of average power has years of daily operation on the system without seeing any drop in performance. And with newer optical technology capable of reducing organic photodeposition on the deeper UV components, this reliability is soon going to emerge at 266nm and even 213nm (209nm Nd:YLF). Cost has also gone down for the diode pumped Q-Switched lasers, although lamp costs on the higher energy systems is still significantly lower, the benefit from better mode quality and reliability makes the newer diode pumped technology more attractive. For high average power and moderate energy pulses, Advanced Optowave has the best balance between cost and performance. There are a few others that can make a claim for comparison, but we have not had the level of positive feedback from customers as what we received about Advanced Optowave. Each application is unique, so a thorough understanding of the process is needed before we can make a recommendation. Please contact us at applications.support@claserapps.com to discuss your requirements.
Laser vendors for flow cytometry are virtually everywhere
Coherent undoubtedly did the best job of marketing their lasers by bringing in the 488nm Sapphire and coming up with the first fully interface-able diode module package, the Coherent CUBE. They capitalized on the need to move away from the old gas-laser technology. Having a significant portion of the market before-hand, they easily moved the next generation product in-place. Very well designed and with the compact form-factor, engineered themselves in extremely well.
Diode lasers did have some drawbacks as described in the flow cytometry section, but the benefit of reducing the cost of lasers as well as reducing the size of the equipment was clear. Because there were drawbacks though, flow cytometer manufacturers eventually pushed back hoping to get some improvement.
Hand selection of diode lasers with ideal characteristics was the method incorporated by several flow cytometer companies. This variation on performance opened the door for more than 20 Coherent CUBE “knock-offs” over the past 15 years, and from a variety of laser manufactures with an array of core competencies. One of our engineers successfully brought TOPTICA Photonics into the flow cytometry market in North America back in 2012. But the list of vendors that sell to flow cytometer companies is rather large.
Each laser company improving on what they saw were the key traits needed to improve consistency and performance for flow cytometry. The focus was on reducing noise and improving pointing stability, which although good, missed the most critical parameter important to flow Cytometry – uniform and predictable energy profiles. The laser light’s behavior in a flow cell cannot be determined by referencing standard clip levels. Flow cytometers use PMTs which look at very low light signals. Understanding the design of the flow cell, the speed of the detection process, and the dynamic range of the detectors is very important. In a perfect world a flat-top energy distribution in one axis would be ideal. But the energy must have identical distribution for every wavelength and in every system.
Looking at the number of laser vendors that have some understanding of these requirements narrows the filed down tremendously. Coherent has done a very nice job with the OBIS, and Melles Griot has some very strong expertise in the area of mode quality.
The design of the flow cell and the optical delivery system are important in determining the best laser for the desired results. Please contact us at applications.support@claserapps.com
Coherent undoubtedly did the best job of marketing their lasers by bringing in the 488nm Sapphire and coming up with the first fully interface-able diode module package, the Coherent CUBE. They capitalized on the need to move away from the old gas-laser technology. Having a significant portion of the market before-hand, they easily moved the next generation product in-place. Very well designed and with the compact form-factor, engineered themselves in extremely well.
Diode lasers did have some drawbacks as described in the flow cytometry section, but the benefit of reducing the cost of lasers as well as reducing the size of the equipment was clear. Because there were drawbacks though, flow cytometer manufacturers eventually pushed back hoping to get some improvement.
Hand selection of diode lasers with ideal characteristics was the method incorporated by several flow cytometer companies. This variation on performance opened the door for more than 20 Coherent CUBE “knock-offs” over the past 15 years, and from a variety of laser manufactures with an array of core competencies. One of our engineers successfully brought TOPTICA Photonics into the flow cytometry market in North America back in 2012. But the list of vendors that sell to flow cytometer companies is rather large.
Each laser company improving on what they saw were the key traits needed to improve consistency and performance for flow cytometry. The focus was on reducing noise and improving pointing stability, which although good, missed the most critical parameter important to flow Cytometry – uniform and predictable energy profiles. The laser light’s behavior in a flow cell cannot be determined by referencing standard clip levels. Flow cytometers use PMTs which look at very low light signals. Understanding the design of the flow cell, the speed of the detection process, and the dynamic range of the detectors is very important. In a perfect world a flat-top energy distribution in one axis would be ideal. But the energy must have identical distribution for every wavelength and in every system.
Looking at the number of laser vendors that have some understanding of these requirements narrows the filed down tremendously. Coherent has done a very nice job with the OBIS, and Melles Griot has some very strong expertise in the area of mode quality.
The design of the flow cell and the optical delivery system are important in determining the best laser for the desired results. Please contact us at applications.support@claserapps.com
Multiphoton light sources at one-fifth the cost
Enough energy to overcome the optical losses in a microscope system, and still having a reliable light source at a reasonable price.
Our marketing team has been tasked with an interesting project during these “sequestered” times. We need technical input from multiphoton microscope integrators and researchers regarding the following:
· Form-factor
· Interface
· Capabilities
· Ideal pricing for 790nm and 1580nm
Contact: marketing.support@claserapps.com
or you can reach our microscope experts at microscope.imaging@claserapps.com
Enough energy to overcome the optical losses in a microscope system, and still having a reliable light source at a reasonable price.
Our marketing team has been tasked with an interesting project during these “sequestered” times. We need technical input from multiphoton microscope integrators and researchers regarding the following:
· Form-factor
· Interface
· Capabilities
· Ideal pricing for 790nm and 1580nm
Contact: marketing.support@claserapps.com
or you can reach our microscope experts at microscope.imaging@claserapps.com