COHERENT says the newest members of its Genesis family of solid-state lasers are the first to offer multi-Watt output at 514nm. This makes them useful in life science applications such as fluorescence studies, and in bioinstrumentation. They are also useful for pumping dye and solid-state gain mediums.
Coherent's Genesis CX 514 solid state lasers
The two new models have outputs of 2W and 4W, and are based on Coherent’s optically pumped semiconductor laser (OPSL) technology. The Genesis CX 514 is said to be the first solid-state laser to provide more than a single Watt of continuous wave (CW) output at this wavelength. Both models promise low output noise, TEM00 beam quality, and full CDRH compliance.
Argon lasers have been the standard choice for CW operations at this wavelength, says Coherent, but these new devices offer significant advantages. They are smaller and are claimed to be 25 times more energy efficient, eliminating the need for cooling water. With three- to four- times the lifetime of ion technology lasers, the cost of ownership is lower and maintenance requirements reduced. Expected lifetime of Genesis CX 514 lasers is more than 20,000 hours.
Output power can be smoothly adjusted from 10-100% of the maximum value, with no effect on beam quality or beam pointing stability (<2urad/C).