Coherent Shows Prototype Laser

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Coherent Photonics Group, Laser Div., introduced a prototype solid-state laser at Photonics West in San Jose, Calif., in January. The company hopes that the device, which is in beta testing for commercial release later this year, will compete with low-power air-cooled argon-ion lasers for applications in flow cytometry, DNA sequencing, printing and photo processing.

The OPSL-488 is a 488-nm optically pumped vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser that produces 20 mW of power. It integrates a frequency-doubling element with the 976-nm gain medium and features a TEM₀₀ beam profile and optical noise of less than 1 percent.