RPMC Lasers White Papers

This white paper explores recent advancements in high-power laser diodes and their applications in various fields, including dentistry, photodynamic therapy, custom laser solutions, and space-qualified laser diode development. It discusses the characteristics and benefits of high-power laser diodes, examines their applications in dentistry, photodynamic therapy, and space exploration, and highlights RPMC Lasers’ role in providing tailored laser solutions for different i… Read More

After reading this white paper, you will have a better understanding of the types of seed laser technologies to be integrated with the neoMOS laser platform, providing various ranges of pulse parameters from the same MOPA platform. This ability to be paired with various technologies provides versatile and flexible performance for a wide range of potential applications depending on your speci… Read More

After reading this white paper, you will come away with an in-depth understanding of both the history of night vision technology, as well as the current state of modern night vision imaging. This article will further go on to explain the important features and requirements that you need to be aware of when determining which laser source is best for your active imaging application. In this article, we illustrate the critical laser requirements through Optitask’s series of q-switched Er:Glass lasers, which are ideally suited for active night vision imaging, due to both their ruggedized design and high pul… Read More

Laser diodes have increased in output power and the increased power means added waste heat to contend with. The mounting or heatsinking of the laser package is of tremendous importance because operating temperature has a strong influence on laser lifetime and performance. Achieving correct mounting or heatsinking of the laser package effectively is not as simple as many would assume. This article will discuss the various package types and the best practices for ensuring the laser diode is mounted correctly. Making sure the laser diode is mounted correctly will ensure the best performance and longest … Read More

Having trouble deciding which fiber-coupling connection is best for you? In this paper, we review pros and cons of the most common fiber optic connectors and the two main connector styles – FC and SMA, the importance of the self-centering ferrule and physical contact and polishing angle in regard to coupling efficiency and back reflections. After reading this white paper, you will come away with an in-depth understanding of the optomechanical structure of fiber optic connectors, their variants and tolerances, and which of these will better suit y… Read More

Interested in adding machine vision into your system? Wanting to make improvements to your current machine vision setup? After reading this article, you will have a better understanding of the characteristics that need to be considered when defining a laser module for machine vision. These characteristics include laser output power and stability requirements, wavelength options and cost/specification considerations, beam shaping options to get the preferred line or illumination pattern, external environmental requirements to consider, and OEM versus turn-key … Read More

After reading this white paper, you will come away with an understanding of how heat-seeking missiles function and why infrared sources are necessary for protecting military aircraft from attack. This article also explains the basic functionality of QCLs, pointing out both the similarities and differences between QCLs and classical semiconductor lasers. Finally, we discuss the specific laser requirements needed to be effective at disorienting a heat-seeking missile, and why the PowerMir series of QCLs from mirSense are ideal for this ap… Read More

After reading this white paper, you will come to understand the fundamental rationale behind range resolution not being of particular importance for this application and why continuous wave (CW), frequency modulated LiDAR signals are preferred over pulsed laser signals. This article will further go on to provide a brief overview of fiber laser technology and explain why they have become the light source of choice for most commercial LiDAR applications.  Lastly, in the article, the LRL2 single-frequency fiber laser from BKtel is presented as an example of a perfect laser solution with the specifications required to lay the foundation for a successful Doppler LiD… Read More

After reading this white paper, you will come to understand the fundamental relationship between the conjugate pinholes and how they determine the depth resolution of the system.  You will understand why these type of microscopes can produce such high-resolution images, and why that requires a laser which is both a single spatial and single longitudinal mode.   We go on to explain that, for these reasons the 532nm single longitudinal mode (SLM) diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) laser from Oxxius, with excellent TEM00 beam quality makes it an ideal source for integration into confocal Raman micr… Read More

After reading this white paper, you will come to understand the fundamentally entangled relationship between the range and velocity resolution of a lidar system and why it is so important to use single frequency laser sources for velocity measurement. This article will further go on to provide a brief overview of fiber laser technology and explain why they have become the light source of choice for most commercial lidar applications. Lastly, in the article, the LRL2 single frequency fiber laser from BKtel is presented as an example of the types of specifications required to lay the foundation for a successful Doppler lid… Read More

Multi-color fluorescence microscopy is a widely used technique to generate multi-spectral images of cells and other small objects for identifying the spatial distribution of molecules of interest in complex heterogeneous samples. In this article, we explore the history of fluorescence microscopy, with a heavy emphasis on the importance of utilizing multiple fluorophores (tags) in the same measurement. This article will further go on to explain that to alleviate the challenges of integrating multiple lasers into a single microscope, RPMC Lasers offers the LaserBoxx LXCc Combiner from Oxxius, in which up to seven different lasers can be dichroicly beam combined and coupled into a single-mode fiber op… Read More

Ultra-fast mode-locked lasers have enabled two-photon microscopy, also referred to as multiphoton microscopy, to revolutionize the biological imaging.  This technique now allows users to create high-resolution fluorescence images of living cells, without damaging the cells in the process. In this article, we will explore how two-photon microscopy has evolved over the years and the integral role that the mode-locked laser has played in its evolution.  It will also discuss the impact of laser wavelength on two-photon absorption and the advantages of working at 920 nm.  Lastly, this article will introduce the development of the Alcor laser series by Spark Lasers, which is the ideal excitation source for two-photon microscopy when working at 920 nm an… Read More

After reading this whitepaper you will have a good understanding of the most important things to do or not do, regarding laser diodes. These twelve discussion points include laser classification, eye safety, electrostatic discharge (ESD), unpacking, cleaning, laser diode drivers, electrical connections, thermally-conductive compounds, back reflections, flammability, noxious substances, and laser lifetime. Finally, we provide an easy link to our most popular whitepaper: “How to Improve Laser Diode … Read More

As lasers become more commonplace in many applications within the life sciences, including Super Resolution Imaging, Confocal Microscopy, Flow Cytometry, DNA Sequencing, and Optogenetics, many times the engineer or researcher knows the key parameters needed, but has difficulties sorting out the less important parameters. This could have a significant impact on cost, the experiment, or overall performance of the system. We will present the basic CW laser module characteristics required for Life Science applications and how to define the specifications to insure you get the right laser for your application. Whether you are a researcher working on an experiment or an engineer developing an instrument for one of these applications, understanding the laser source is critical for you… Read More

We have published an extensive amount of educational content on the fundamentals of LiDAR as well as various LiDAR applications, including self-driving cars, windspeed monitoring, and active night vision imaging systems. In this white paper, we take a much different approach and discuss the wide variety of laser options that RPMC offers for various LiDAR applications. The white paper is broken into three distinct sections, each one highlighting a different type of laser (fiber lasers, DPSS lasers, and microchip lasers). In each section, we will not only discuss the various product offerings but also pair them with the most relevant LiDAR applications for thos… Read More