R and D Magazine recently named Power Technology's 440nm 16mW IQ laser diode module as one of the 100 most technologically significant products introduced in the past year
The 440nm IQ (instrument quality) module yields 16mW of blue output.
Users can harness this ultra-stable output for use in any number of OEM or research-based applications, from spectroscopy to remote optical sensing to cancer detection.
The module was designed specifically to address a need in the laser industry, the need for a higher power, temperature controlled laser diode module to replace outdated blue HeCd lasers.
The 440nm 16mW blue IQ has several obvious advantages over HeCd lasers: size, efficiency, and cost.
The IQ is about one-quarter the size of a typical HeCd laser, making stereolithography, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, and a host of other applications far easier to manage.
Also, a typical HeCd laser consumes over 1000W of electrical power, whereas the 440nm IQ requires only 18W of electrical power, yielding much lower running costs for users. And the economical blue IQ costs far less than the typical HeCd laser, allowing users to free up more funds to support other areas of their research or design.
Another benefit is the elimination of the cost and disruption to production that naturally results when users must routinely retube or reprocess their HeCd lasers.
The 440nm 16mW IQ also offers major advantages over other laser diode modules at the same wavelength, the most obvious being output power.
A wavelength of 440nm is relatively rare in laser diode technology, and output as high as 16mW at this wavelength for a non-gas laser is virtually unheard of until now, says Power Technology.
The 440nm 16mW module not only provides several times the visibility of its competitor laser diode modules, but it produces a much stronger signal, enabling far more sensitive testing for users.
Another major advantage of the 440nm IQ: cost.
The unit is said to be more than competitively priced, costing much less than other modules at this wavelength that offer significantly less output power. Potential applications for the 440nm 16mW IQ are virtually limitless.
The unit is a good candidate for OEM integration, but it's also finding its way into a number of laboratories.
The unit's precision current source and PID temperature controller make it particularly suited for applications requiring stable wavelengths and output powers, whether in the analytical, biomedical, or entertainment field.
Applications range from flow cytometry to remote optical sensing.
Compact disc mastering, high-speed printing, and display are several other useful applications.
Still other users can turn to the 440nm IQ for their biomedical needs, including cancer detection, capillary electrophoresis, biological fluorescence, confocal microscopy, and particle counting.
Most anything that a HeCd laser can do, the 440nm IQ can do as well, at a lower cost, in a smaller package, and in a far more efficient manner.
A collection of over sixty outside professional consultants, university faculty, and industrial researchers judge each year's competition, with editors of R and D Magazine selecting the final winners.
The key judging criterion for the competition is technological significance, with special importance placed on those products that can solve widespread problems and improve people's lives.
