Coherent has introduced a commercial all-solid-state laser with output at 568nm.
The Sapphire 568 is available in models offering 50mW, 75mW, 100mW, 150mW and 200mW of continuous-wave output.
It provides a stable, high-quality beam (M<1.1) with low noise (less than 0.25 per cent RMS from 20Hz to 2MHz).
The Sapphire 568 is packaged in a compact laser head, measuring 125 x 70 x 34 mm; this is identical to other Sapphire lasers at 561nm, 488nm and 460nm for original equipment manufacturers incorporating multiple lasers.
The 568nm wavelength, which is traditionally obtained from an ion laser, is used in a variety of bioinstrumentation applications based on fluorescence excitation.
However, the large size, low efficiency, high heat dissipation, background discharge light and limited lifetime of ion lasers pose practical and cost disadvantages to systems builders.
With its low power consumption (less than 60W), beam characteristics, all-solid-state reliability and small size, the Sapphire 568 is a more economical alternative for life-science applications such as confocal microscopy and drug discovery, according to the company.
As the Sapphire 568 is wavelength compatible with legacy ion laser technology, instrument manufacturers can use the same optics and filters as employed in their existing designs.
However, the Sapphire is available with much higher output power than most ion lasers (which typically only provide about 20mW at 568nm), thus enabling higher sensitivity, an improved signal-to-noise ratio and increased throughput speed.
