The typical red laser pointer is about 5 milliwatts, and a good one has a tight enough beam to actually hit the Moon—though it’d be spread out over a large fraction of the surface when it got there. The atmosphere would distort the beam a bit, and absorb some of it, but most of the light would make it.

For a laser pointer, the power rating – if it can be believed at all – is a maximum you might see with fresh batteries under the right conditions on a very good day, or possibly just the 5 mW maximum for Class IIIa (which is the most that is legal in the U.S.A. for a laserpen groen 100mw ). Obviously, the seller wants to impress you with the specs for their product and not all are being entirely honest or forthcoming. The actual power could be much less and may decrease rapidly as the batteries are drained.

While it might be feasible to increase the current to the laser diode, unless you know its specifications AND have an accurate laser power meter (mucho $$$), there is no way of knowing when to quit. Above their rated maximum optical power, laser diodes turn into DELDs (Dark Emitting Laser Diodes) or expensive LEDs laserpen 500mw groen . Exceed this rating for even a microsecond and your whimpy 3 mW output may be boosted to precisely 0.0 mW. This is called Catastrophic Optical Damage (COD) to the microscopic end-facets of the laser diode. There can be also be thermal runaway problems or a combination of both of these depending on design – or lack thereof.

If you still insist on experimenting, be aware that while this appears to be safe for the laser diode, there is no way of knowing for sure without tests. There could be funny resonances in the driver that will blow your laser diode at certain frequencies 200mw laserpen groen ! And, if the effect is due to lasing instability, the regulator may attempt to boost the current to compensate resulting in possible overheating of the laser diode, driver, or both.

The most powerful laser on Earth is the confinement beam at the National Ignition Facility, a fusion research laboratory. It’s an ultraviolet laser with an output of 500 terawatts. However, it only fires in single pulses lasting a few nanoseconds, so the total energy delivered is about equivalent to a quarter-cup of gasoline.

The laser diode in a laser printer is located inside the scanner unit which is probably a black plastic case about 6 or 8 inches on a side and a couple of inches thick with a motor protruding from the bottom. The laser diode is mounted (along with its driver board, collimating optics, and even possibly a Peltier solid state cooler on some) either near one corner or inside. There should be a laser safety sticker on it as well – but these fall off sometimes!

CD player laser diodes are infrared (IR) emitters, usually 780 nm, with a maximum power output of around 5 mW. Their emission will appear very slightly visible and deep red. This is the eye’s response to the near-IR radiation but appearing about 10,000 times weaker than the actual beam would be it it’s wavelength were centered in the visible part of the spectrum. Despite what the EM spectrum charts show 1000mw groene laser pen , the eye’s response does not drop off to zero at exactly 700 nm – there is decreasing sensitivity which may extend out beyond 820 nm depending on the individual (though some people can’t even see the 780 nm). Just realize that the main beam is IR and almost totally invisible. Take care. A collimated 5 mW beam is potentially hazardous to your eyes. Don’t be misled into thinking the laser is weak due to the dim appearance of the beam. It is not supposed to be visible at all!

However, depending on design, some of the parts may be missing or combined into one component. For example, many Sony pickups do not appear to use a collimating lens. For pickups with a collimating lens, if the objective lens is removed, you should get a more or less parallel main beam and two weaker side beams. Many newer designs have a combined laser diode/photodiode array rather than individual components krachtige 300mw groene laser pen . Mix and match parts for your needs (if you can get it apart non-destructively). Where there is no collimating lens, the objective lens may be used for this purpose if positioned closer to the laser diode.

Some of these use what are known as “hologram lasers” (a designation perhaps coined by Sharp Corporation). With these, the functions previously performed by multiple optical components. can be done by a “Holographic Optical Element” or HOE. The HOE can simply be a diffraction grating replacement or can be designed to perform some more complex beam forming. A variety of hologram lasers (as well as conventional laser diodes and photodiode arrays) are listed under Sharp Laser Diode Products Professionele Groene laser pen 5000mw . The typical Sharp hologram laser (versions for CD, DVD, and other types of optical storage devices) eliminate the normal diffraction grating in the three-beam pickup as well as the polarizing beam splitter and associated components making for a very simple, compact, low cost unit.

Some manufacturers of CD and DVD optical pickups have gone to a combined laser diode/photodiode (LD/PD) array package which looks like a large LD but with 8 to 10 pins. Aside from the objective lens assembly, the only other part may be the turning mirror, and even this is really not needed. Such a pickup can be very light in weight (which is good for fast-access drives) and extremely compact.