Direct Diode Laser 1064nm - new to me, how about you?

[Neville Stewart]

So I came across a vendor selling Direct Diode laser, supposed to operate faster & more efficiently than a standard Fiber laser, Company name escapes me, out of Ontario Cali. Results look pretty impressive but you know how that can be. Any knowledge of this Tech?

[Bill George]

I have a six watt diode laser and its a fun project, but at that power lever its so slow. I am not aware of any 20 watt or larger diode. It would require either water cooling or very high volume air cooling to work. I would not be surprised to see a practical large one say 20 or 30 watts sometime in the next few years. I mean affordable for people like us to use.

[Rodne Gold]

These guys?
https://www.laserglow.com/catalog.htm

[Dave Sheldrake]

Most new Fibres are DPSS, lamp pumped is old technology these days

[Neville Stewart]

These guys?
https://www.laserglow.com/catalog.htm

No Rodne, not them, I'm disinclined to give them any publicity except to say that they're in Ontario, Cali. I asked if they could refer me to a Texas customer and they said no. I'm getting the shell game feeling.

[John Noell]

Not knowing what was being talked about, I googled it. Here is the Czech version (translated): QUESTION:
What is the difference between a DPSS (diode pumped solid state crystal) and fiber laser? Are some fundamental differences among these systems?

ANSWER:

Both laser systems are quite similar to each other and that leads quite often to confusion. Diode pumped solid state crystal laser is conceptually older laser system, where fiber lasers continued successfully. As the fiber as diode laser are essentially the same wavelength (about 1064nm), which is applied for very similar applications - work with metal and plastic materials. Diode pumped solid state crystal lasers are relatively well suited to describe plastic and metal materials regarding to the lower energy in a beam pulse.

A very distinctive differentiating feature is a lifetime of the laser source. While the laser diode lifetime is estimated approximately at 30tis. hours, the fiber laser has the lifetime hundred thousands of hours. The confusion between both lasers is mainly due to the transport fiber, which is represented in both types. However, this fiber is not an active environment of these lasers and says nothing about the device type. The Active environment of fiber lasers are optical fibers with an Ytterbium admixture located in the laser source. A special crystal is an active environment of diode lasers usually located in the laser bench. Because of the crystal heating by generation of laser radiation is the laser bench provided with cooling ribs.

[Dave Sheldrake]

Fibre is a method of transport, DPSS is a method of energising

The two common methods of Pumping are Lamp and Diode (there are others) but you could also direct use the DPSS source via normal optics to achieve similar results at a lower cost without the need of a transport fibre

[Neville Stewart]

Fibre is a method of transport, DPSS is a method of energising

The two common methods of Pumping are Lamp and Diode (there are others) but you could also direct use the DPSS source via normal optics to achieve similar results at a lower cost without the need of a transport fibre
So Dave, is their assertion that an SPI mopa is dinosaur technology just sales talk or just BS?

[Lee DeRaud]

These guys?
https://www.laserglow.com/catalog.htmWrong "Ontario"...that's the one in Canada, not southern California.

[Dave Sheldrake]

pretty much 90% of laser technology is dinosaur to be honest Nev, very little has changed in 30 years ...it's being refined but very little is really new.

The only really significant development in the last 10 years has been MIT managing to produce a beam of a smaller diameter than the lasers wavelength as an experiment, pump methods change, switch methods change, gain mediums are being refined but the core operation of lasers hasn't really changed at all.

Fixed length pulses in Q-Switched lasers are much more limiting at high repetition rates compared to the adjustability of Mopa systems

If the company are going for resonator via a normal optical train there will be less losses but you will also have all the usual problems that come with optical trains compared to the control that a fibre transmission system uses