Industrial & Manufacturing Blog Posts

When a laser source is discontinued, finding a replacement is rarely as simple as matching wavelength and output power.

The replacement must still work inside the existing optical, electrical, mechanical, thermal, and control architecture – and some specifications may be much more important to the application than others.

The goal is therefore not always to find an identical laser. It is to identify the requirements that cannot change, determine where the system has usable tolerance, and then evaluate available standard, configurable, or custom sources against those co… Read More

For over three decades, LDX Optronics has delivered high-power multimode laser diodes, powering cutting-edge applications in Medical, Defense, and Industrial sectors. As RPMC Lasers’ exclusive North American partner, LDX offers an unmatched range of wavelengths (400–1900 nm) and power levels (up to 40 W), with industry-leading packaging expertise. This article explores LDX’s diode solutions, their applications, and how to select the right laser for your needs, spotlighting the LDX Optronics portfolio for superior pe… Read More

In the realm of spectral imaging, tunable lasers, with their ability to meticulously adjust their output wavelengths, serve as the cornerstone for various spectral imaging applications. From the delicate tissues of a biological specimen to the robust components of industrial machinery, tunable lasers play a key role in identifying the composition of materials and imaging intricate features. This versatility not only enhances the precision of imaging but also expands the horizons of scientific discovery and technological i… Read More

Helium-neon (HeNe) lasers are renowned for their excellent beam quality and reliability in continuous-wave (CW) operation, making them a staple in application like spectroscopy, holography, and interferometry. For professionals selecting a laser source, understanding HeNe laser technolgoy and specifications is key to choosing the right solution. This article explores the fundamentals of HeNe lasers, the history of their development, and critical considerations for selecting the ideal H… Read More

Q-switched lasers are essential for generating high-energy, short-pulse laser outputs in applications like laser machining, LIBS, and Medical procedures. Selecting the right Q-switched laser—active or passive—requires understanding their operational principles and trade-offs. This article briefly explains passive vs active Q-switching lasers and outlines key considerations for choosing the best Q-switched laser, highlighting RPMC Lasers’ solutions for y… Read More

Once thought to be impossible, blue, green and UV laser diodes have now become commonplace.  These lasers are being used in a wide range of applications from blue-ray players to commercial lighting & displays to copper welding.  In this post, we are going to take a look at the underlying material properties of semiconductors, GaN in particular, and how it has led to the development of blue, green and UV las… Read More

SPIE Photonics West 2025 is just around the corner, and RPMC is excited to highlight an SPIE Q&A with Fluence Technology, one of our trusted partners, providing environmentally-stable, maintenance-free femtosecond fiber lasers. The Q&A features Bogusz Stepak, Ultrafast Laser Application Laboratory Director at Fluence, highlighting the company’s amazing products and ach… Read More

As Germany phases out nuclear power plants, the focus has shifted to alternative energy carriers, mainly hydrogen (H2) and ammonia (NH3), which can store energy generated by wind and solar power. While hydrogen shows promise, it is challenging to produce an… Read More

Accurate OH measurements are a growing need in combustion research, but existing sensor architectures are challenging to make economic, compact, and robust. The need for robust OH sensors is amplified in the global effort to decarbonize combustion. Many species, such as CO and CO2, have robust, high-speed laser absorption sensors targeting their fundamental vibrational bands in the mid-infrared; however, certain species like OH do not have a favorable vibrational spectrum, complicating sensing in the mid… Read More

Industrial laser induced breakdown spectroscopy typically involves the elemental analysis of various metals. In our previous application note titled “Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) in Biomedical Applications,” we discussed the fundamentals of the technique, emphasizing the use of q-switched diode-pumped solid-state lasers as the excitation source. In this blog post, we are going to explore the possibility of utilizing nanosecond pulsed fiber lasers as the excitation source. We will also discuss the pros and cons of that approach, specifically for the characterization of metals and metal… Read More

Injection molding is a widely used process for rapidly mass-producing low cost highly uniform mechanical parts.  On a cursory level, it is a relatively straight forward process by which molten material (metal, glass, polymer, etc.) is injected into a hollowed-out cavity, cooled down to solidify, and then ejected.  This results in the material being permanently shaped to the internal cavity of the mold.  This process has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years with the original molds being made out of clay and then broken apart to reveal the fini… Read More

Historically, Helium-Neon (HeNe) lasers were often the first choice for precision instrumentation, measurement setups and some spectroscopy applications. It was invented in 1960 and technologically it was one of the first lasers with extraordinary good parameters. The mechanical and optical design is quite simple (apart from sophisticated glasswork to make the tube itself) but the gas lasing medium and overall construction provide some intrinsic advantages. But also a number of disadv… Read More

Mid-IR molecular spectroscopy is a rapidly developing and promising technique, enabling high-performance chemical detection and analysis for industrial or environmental purposes, with new wavelength ranges becoming commercially available. The essential component for such applications is the laser source, adapted to the specific spectral lines (the fingerprint) of the target molecule. Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs) are a perfectly suited solution to build such analysis… Read More

In October of 2017 RPMC Lasers, published a white paper titled “How to Improve Laser Diode Lifetime! Advice and Precautions on Mounting,” where we went on to describe in great detail the various package types and the best practices for ensuring the laser diode are appropriately heat sunk. In light of extreme interest in this topic, we have decided to expand on this topic with this application note by discussing how electrical, electro-mechanical, environmental, and optical properties also affect the diode … Read More

RPMC Lasers is proud to announce that two of our esteemed partners, Seminex Corporation and Spectrolight, Inc., have been honored with the 2024 Innovators Awards from Laser Focus World. This prestigious recognition highlights their exceptional contributions to the photonics industry and underscores their commitment to innovation and exc… Read More

In business for over 20 years, with nearly 10,000 units fielded to date, the experts at Bright Solutions provide a world-class level of quality, customer care, and service. Their wealth of knowledge in laser engineering and applications experience has led to the development and continuous improvement of multiple series of high-quality custom DP… Read More

Single-frequency lasers have long been the cornerstone of standoff gas detection applications, particularly in traditional LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging), DIAL (Differential Absorption LIDAR), and TDLAS (Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy) applications, where the sample needs to be accurately measured.  More recently, as single-frequency laser diodes have become more common and less expensive, with a larger measurement range and compact size, they are being utilized in more localized and industrial gas sensing app… Read More

Microchip laser technology is a perfect option for various LIDAR-based applications, as well as LIBS, spectroscopy, micromachining, and more. Microchip lasers are typically compact and lightweight, allowing for easier and more efficient integration in airborne and portable, handheld applications, and the laser characteristics are in line with LIDAR requirements for collecting … Read More

In this case study, we explore how Johan Petit, a research engineer at ONERA, overcame the challenges of material characterization in the mid-wave to long-wave infrared spectrum. Faced with budget constraints and the need for specific laser wavelengths, Johan turned to Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs) from mirSense. This cost-effective solution not only met his project requirements but also offered room temperature operation and compact, turnkey usability, proving QCLs to be an ideal laser source for such app… Read More

This article presents a rugged, compact, high-quality, tunable ultrafast laser system designed for nonlinear spectroscopy and imaging such as CRS, SRS, and CARS. This system provides high beam quality, extremely narrow linewidth, and high-intensity ultrafast pulses in several wavelength regions, providing a unique solution in the field of laser spectroscopy an… Read More

Blue diode lasers have recently become known as an excellent tool for certain processing techniques regarding copper and other non-ferrous and highly reflective metals. Copper, gold, aluminum, and certain other metals absorb blue wavelengths more easily than any other wavelengths of visible or invisible light. This higher rate of absorption allows for both higher quality results and faster processing times, when typically, there is a trade off between quality … Read More

In business for over 20 years, with nearly 10,000 units fielded, the experts at Bright Solutions have built a history of success and have gained a vast amount of applications experience. In their modern applications lab, ideal for proof-of-concept testing and sample processing, they provide a host of DPSS laser configurations with a range of wavelengths and power levels, have a dedicated staff with years of application experience, and even offer process developmen… Read More

A common problem for HeNe laser customers is the issue of polarization switching, which is the sudden change of the polarization of different modes, especially in shorter tubes, which can be particularly detrimental when operating frequency stabilized HeNe laser tubes. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as ‘mode hopping.’ However, this is not accurate. While somewhat similar to polarization switching, mode hopping involves the laser’s operation on a single resonator mode, which suddenly switches to another mode, causing the optical power to switch over to this… Read More

Jenoptik is now offering the JOLD-275-CPNN-1L, their latest development in the field of high-power laser sources for industrial material processing, medical, and life science applications. Thanks to Jenoptik’s patented mounting and bonding technology, this new, passively cooled diode laser is able to achieve extremely high performance in hard pulse and CW applications. Jenoptik also utilizes the efficient and high-performance semiconductor materials they produce themselves to manufacture their high-power las… Read More

Label, mark, and structure a variety of materials with extreme precision using nanosecond fiber lasers for laser material processing applications: the pulsed nanosecond fiber lasers are suitable for labeling, marking, and cutting different materials, as well as for structuring your surface exactly. They create laser marks on metals or plastics, for example, while extremely thin layers can be removed … Read More