Laser Safety FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

It is physically not possible to give exact power values of show lasers, as several factors influence the power.
Especially DPSS (Diode Pumped Solid State) laser modules are quite sensitive to exterior influences like temperature and excessive shock.

DPSS modules consist mainly of three sections:
- a pump energy source (where there may be slight differences in power),
- a resonation area (that consists of two reflection mirrors that must be absolutely parallel - small deviations lead to reduced output)
- a crystalline structure as laser active material (which is naturally grown and thus may differ in quality).As it can be clearly seen there are several physical cases for having differences in output power - even if the lasers are built the same way. Other influences come from optical components like lenses etc and from the electronics components.
Temperature is a crucial factor for output brightness: Even at 10°C a DPSS module may give no output any more! So make sure to operate it in the temperature range specified by the manufacturer.

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Why do we give a power range though instead of a single value?
- The minimum power is what we guarantee - if your product is rated below the minimum specified power value on purchase, this is a warranty issue.
- The maximum power is what the laser could maximum have as output. This value is especially given for safety purposes to have a proper base for safety zone definitions.

It is not possible to give exact power values for a large number of lasers - this is only possible for the very single laser head and cannot be predicted without measurement.