Products
Beyond Photonics has keen interest in laser and lidar product development, as relevant markets mature and expand. Over the years our team members have taken numerous photonic concepts from the earliest stages of development to hardened products for use in demanding operating environments, including harsh airborne applications. Below you can explore a couple of early product efforts that we expect to follow with more extensive offerings in the near future.
The CoolCard is a simple, easy-to-use laser beam display and “on-the-fly” evaluation technology available specifically for use with the ever-expanding field of eye-safe mid- and far-infrared laser sources, beyond the reach of competing technologies. Optimized for basic location and quick spatial-mode structure evaluation of IR beams in complex optical systems, the CoolCardTM II Laser Beamfinder is small, lightweight, and requires no low-light requirements or photonic “re-charging” like chemical phosphor cards do. Featuring the same great performance as its predecessor, the CoolCardTM II now features fast-rechargeable Li-Ion battery operation for more flexibility in the lab or the field (where AC power may not be easily available). The CoolCardTM II is hand-held, or can be post-mounted in two different orientations for “hands-free” use on the optical tabletop. The CoolCard is appropriate for use with:
- CO2 lasers
- Holmium and Thulium Lasers
- IR Diodes (e.g., Quantum Cascade Diode Lasers)
- Far-IR, Terahertz sources
- Nonlinear Sources (OPOs, OPAs)
Characteristics include:
- Sensitive (3 mW/cm2), high spatial resolution display uses precision temperature stabilized liquid crystal
- Sharper spatial resolution and greater wavelength range (0.8 µm-Far IR) compared to orange phosphor or cumbersome UV-charged passive cards
- 30 W/cm2 damage threshold—simple and inexpensive liquid crystal sensor replacement if damage does occur
- Lightweight, hand-held design; post-mountable in “portrait” & “landscape” orientations for hands-free use
- Same performance as our original CoolCardTM, but with enhanced flexibility for lab, factory floor, or field use
Swift CW Frequency-Tunable Single-Frequency Laser
The Swift is a compact, single-frequency, eye-safe diode-pumped laser optimized for use in coherent and direct detection lidar systems. Exhibiting high output power and < 10 kHz/ms short-term frequency jitter, the Swift is ideal for use as a master and local oscillator source in coherent lidar systems. Very fast and broad mode-hop-free frequency tuning enables next-generation spectroscopic applications like pollution monitoring and greenhouse gas measurements using differential absorption lidar techniques. The standard product uses Tm,Ho:YLF or Tm,Ho:LuLF operating across 2047-2068 nm wavelengths with >10 GHz single-frequency tuning using an integral piezo actuator, the Swift capitalizes on Beyond Photonics’ decades of experience in the development and perfection of extremely stable single-frequency lasers.
Beyond Photonics Swift lasers can be provided at a variety of wavelength ranges including:
- 1018-1052 nm Yb-doped YAG or YLF
- 1063 – 1065 nm Nd-doped YAG
- 1615 - 1619 nm and 1643 - 1647 nm Er-doped YAG
- 2007 – 2031 nm Tm-doped YAG or LuAG
- 2047 - 2068 nm Tm,Ho-doped YLF or LuLF (standard product)
- 2088 – 2102 nm and 2124 – 2126 nm Tm,Ho-doped YAG or LuAG
- Other wavelengths may be possible if needed
Tm,Ho:YLF Swift Specifications
- 2047-2068 nm factory-set peak wavelength; user-tunable ± 0.14 nm. Other NIR and SWIR wavelengths available upon request
- Integral 60 dB Faraday isolation and single-mode PM fiber coupling
- CW single-frequency fiber-coupled output power in excess of 50 mW; higher powers have been demonstrated and are available on request.
- Very compact laser head: 1.2” W x 2.8” L x 1” H; conduction-cooled laser head.
- Fast piezo single-frequency tuning (>10 GHz); also capable of being thermally tuned. Larger piezo tuning range available on request.
- Linewidth less than 10 kHz/ms (dependent on piezo drive characteristics).
- Long-term frequency drift less than 1 GHz/day. Improved linewidth and long-term frequency stability possible by locking to an external reference.
- Linearly polarized output (> 100:1)
- Power requirements: 110 VAC, 60 Hz. Single 2 m long cable from laser head to compact table-top controller. Other OEM controller formats available on request.