May 10 2010
Coherent, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) (Nasdaq: COHR) has expanded its Sapphire™ family of compact CW visible lasers with the first 458 nm (blue) offering based on the company’s unique optically pumped semiconductor laser (OPSL) technology.
Sapphire 458 low power lasers
As a sold-state alternative to ion lasers at this wavelength, these new Sapphire 458 low power (LP) lasers are available with a choice of 20 mW, 50 mW, and 75 mW of TEM00 output. They provide the same form, fit and function advantages as other Sapphire LP lasers, including a compact package (34 mm x 70 mm x 125 mm), high beam quality (M2 < 1.1), same beam diameter (0.7 mm), and both digital and analog control interface (RS232, analog, USB).
Sapphire 458 LP lasers are intended for biomedical fluorescence-based applications that currently rely on ion lasers to provide this useful blue wavelength. In addition to their longer lifetime, much smaller size, lower power/heat budget and ultra-low (<0.25% rms) output noise, these new solid-state blue lasers also provide access to a higher power range (up to 75 mW) than that available from legacy ion lasers.
Specific bioinstrumentation applications for Sapphire 458 LP lasers include flow cytometry, particularly for cell sorting, where their small footprint makes them ideal for use in research instruments requiring a larger number of excitation wavelengths. Other biomedical applications include genomic sequencing, high throughput drug discovery and confocal microscopy. In addition, Sapphire 458 LP lasers also prove ideal for applications in homeland security/biohazard detection, semiconductor inspection and metrology.