Component Blog Posts

As discussed in previous posts, Raman spectroscopy is a rapidly growing analytical technique used in a wide variety of industries for material identification, but with so many different laser options it can be somewhat challenging to understand which laser is best for which application. To help elevate some of the confusion around this issue, we released an application note this past August titled “Multi-Mode vs. Single-Mode Lasers for Raman Spectr… Read More

Whether a diode laser is a traditional monolithic design or utilizes an external cavity configuration, the laser light must still propagate through the diode’s PN-junction via a ridge waveguide.   As a result, the beam profile of edge emitting diodes is unique when compared to all laser sources because of the asymmetric geometry of this optical cavity.  This issue often leads to confusion about how to properly integrate open beam laser diodes into yo… Read More

Jenoptik will be presenting its latest development in the field of high-power laser sources for industrial material processing, and in particular for direct diode laser applications. The new diode laser with passive cooling makes quite the impression with its extremely high power output of 275 watts and long service life in both CW and hard pulse app… Read More

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a common term in the medical community which has been used to describe treatments ranging from near-infrared laser-induced vascular dilatation to photo-thermal excitation of nanorods embedded in cancer tumors.    For the purposes of this blog, we are going to focus on a rapidly growing subset of PDT where laser light is used to activate both dermal and subdermal treatments utilizing a specialized drug, called a photosensitiz… Read More

Raman spectroscopy is one of the fastest growing and most diverse applications in all of laser spectroscopy.  As a result, it can be rather challenging at times to sift through the wide-ranging laser options all being marketed for Raman spectroscopy.  In this application note we will tackle one of the most common questions that arises when picking a laser for Raman spectroscopy; “Should I chose a single-spatial mode or multi-spatial mode laser for my application?”  On the surface, this seems like a simple question since Raman is a nonlinear optical effect and therefore the tighter the beam can be focused the higher the conversion efficiency.  Seemingly a single-mode laser would be preferable, but in practice there are other factors that can complicate … Read More

Semiconductor materials are unique among laser gain materials for their extremely high index of refraction.  As a result of this large index difference at the air/semiconductor interface, each facet of a laser diode naturally acts as a partially reflective mirror (~32%).   This gives diode lasers the unique property of having a built-in resonator which is capable of lasing without any external optics or coatings and providing an extremely low-cost solution for applications such as laser pointers, where performance isn’t the primar… Read More

In this blog post we are going to take a look at two most commonly used fiber laser dopants erbium (Er) and ytterbium (Yb) which both have a strong absorption peak at 976 nm, but who’s bandwidths vary dramatically causing one to require a wavelength stabilized d… Read More

The single most commonly used laser procedure in dentistry is crown troughing, because of its ability to distend the tissue in much time as traditional retraction techniques. In this blog post we dive into what exactly crown troughing is and what the laser requirements are for such an ap… Read More

In this blog we look at the application of machine vision in the transportation industry for laser rail inspection where high-power laser diodes. Laser rail inspection systems use high-speed cameras & high power laser line projectors to acquire high-res images and 3D profiles of rai… Read More

In our last blog post, “Laser Amplification for Power Scaling,” we discussed how an optical amplifier can be used to increase the power of a seed laser while maintaining its performance characteristics.  The same basic principle can be applied to a laser itself, with a method known as injection seeding.  In this case, a single frequency laser is sent into the laser cavity therefore selectively reducing the gain threshold at that specific frequency as shown in the fig… Read More

Continuing with our recent theme of application for laser diode bars and stacks, in this post we will take a look at laser cladding.  If you haven’t already read our previous post titled “Understanding Laser Diode Arrays,” or have a basic understanding of laser diode bars and stacks we’d highly recommend you check out that post before reading … Read More

In this post, we will take a looking to industrial laser welding and why high power (multi-kilowatt) fiber coupled diode lasers are ideal for this application. This is accomplished by looking at the differences industrial laser cutting and laser welding system req… Read More

At RPMC we offer one of the widest ranges of laser diodes on the market, and if you have been following us for some time now, we often mention that we offer both single emitters and arrays (bars).  In this blog post we are going to take a look at exactly what we mean when we talk about diode bars, but in order to do that, we need to first take a small detour and talk about the role of the ridge waveguide in laser diodes i… Read More

Eblana Photonics’ propitiatory Discrete Mode (DM) single frequency laser diode technology is an ideal solution for this application, available from 760 nm up to 2150 nm. Their DM laser technology delivers DFB laser like performance at a lower price point geared to high volume app… Read More

A complete, turn-key laser diode system suitable for many welding and cladding applications. This award winning product based on multiple single emitter design, a combination of fused fiber combining, has achieved 1000 W output power for a 300um fiber and 3000W output from 60… Read More

Laser diodes and VCELS are semiconductor lasers in the simplest form of Solid State Lasers. Laser diodes are commonly referred to as edge emitting laser diodes, because the laser light is emitted from the edge of the substrate. RPMC Lasers supplies all your Laser Diode and VCSELS needs 63… Read More

High Power laser diodes (multimode laser diodes) have an enlarged emitter that allows higher power than single mode laser diodes. The output power varies depending on the wavelength needed. Laser diodes are available in wavelengths from the UV (~370 nm) through the mid IR (>2 um) wa… Read More

A laser diode or semiconductor laser is the simplest form of Solid State Laser. Laser diodes are commonly referred to as edge emitting laser diodes because the laser light is emitted from the edge of the substrate. The light emitting region of the laser diode is commonly called th… Read More

RPMC Lasers offer one of the widest wavelength selections available. Our fiber coupled Diode Laser products include single-mode fiber coupled laser diodes, multimode single emitter and multi-emitter fiber coupled modules, and fiber coupled laser diode bars a… Read More

Jenoptik produces and develops high-power laser diodes.  They range from fiber-coupled laser diode modules, mounted laser diodes / stacks, and semiconductor material.  The entire process is covered from wafer to module.  Their laser diode products are well established in the industrial, medical, and science i… Read More

These Single Frequency Laser Diodes feature Eblana’s Discreet-Mode (DM) technology which allows for excellent SMSR and narrow linewidth (<2MHz),  making them a cost effective solution for Gas Sensing and scientific needs. Since laser-based gas sensing requires excellent tuning characteristics, Eblana's DM lasers are the ideal choice because they feature mode-hop-free tuning over a minimum of 2nm. See our new Lasers 101 page for in depth information on Las... Read More

We know selecting a laser source for your application can be overwhelming. There are many types of lasers and levels of integration to choose from, so it is important to know their differences and the impacts they will have on your project. In our new Lasers 101 guide, we provide a… Read More

BWT Lasers specialize in developing and manufacturing of high-performance diode laser components and subsystems. As a leading supplier of fiber coupled diode lasers, BWT Beijing provides the lasers in a wide range of wavelengths and outp… Read More

RPMC Lasers offers over 50 different blue lasers and laser diodes from several industry leading suppliers. The Blue wavelengths cover the wavelengths from 420nm thru 499nm. Applications for Blue wavelength lasers and laser diodes include biophotonics, medical, military, and ma… Read More

Many customers do not appreciate the importance and/or the complexity of removing waste heat. Heat is the biggest cause of field failures, especially for higher power laser diodes.  Waste heat must be removed efficiently and instantaneously, or the laser will be catastrophically damaged or, as a minimum, experience a shortened… Read More