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SUPER VISIBLE BEAM
GREEN LASER MODULE
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Super Visible Green Beam Laser Module, retail $18.88
Manufactured by (Unknown)
Last updated 08-15-11

(In reference to the padded envelope I received from an Ebay seller at 4:20pm PDT on 05-05-11):
{sung like the Foreigner song "Feels Like the First Time"}

This is a green-emitting laser; styled not like the usual "pen" but more like a larger handheld module.

It has a measured power output of 48.33mW at 532nm in the green part of the spectrum; yet it is advertised as a 5mW unit. And before you ask, yes, I checked (spectrographically) for the presence of NIR radiation from the pump diode that might have queered the test, and only very little was found -- a percent or two of the total power tops. So yes, that 48.33mW reading is mainly the green laser radiation.

This laser comes in an aluminum body (protected by what I believe is a baked enamel finish) and it feeds from a single CR123A lithium camera cell.

Size of product w/hand to show scale

SIZE

Feed the laser module the included CR123A cell first (see below), and then you'll be ready to rock.

To use the laser module, just aim it at something you wish to point out, and press & hold down the button on the barrel for as long as you need the laser spot. Release the button to turn the laser module back off. Yes, it really is as easy as that.

To change the battery in this laser, unscrew and remove the tailcap, throw it in the {vulgar term for feces}bole, yank that silver handle on the cistern down, and flush it away...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! So just set it aside instead.

Tip the used CR123A cell out of the barrel and into your hand, and dispose of or recycle it as you see fit. Do not under any circumstances flush it down a toilet and for Christ sakes please do not throw it into a trout-filled stream.

Insert a new CR123A cell into the barrel, flat-end (-) negative first. This is the opposite of how batteries are installed in most flashlights, so please pay attention to polarity here.

Screw the tailcap back on, and be done with it.
Aren't you glad you didn't flush away that tailcap now?

Current usage measures 285mA on my DMM's 4A scale.

This is a laser module, not a flashlight. So I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the toilet bowl, run over it, swing it against the corner of a concrete stair, or inflict upon it punishments that flashlights may have inflicted upon them. So this section of the laser's web page will seem a bit more bare than this section of the web page on a page about a flashlight.

Besides, lasers are meant to be loved, not punished.

I did however, perform "The Knife Test" on it, and I was rather easily able to scratch the finish to bare metal -- leading me to believe that the finish is baked enamel rather than anodizing of any pedigree.

Green diode lasers are a lot different than those common red lasers you see all the time.

In a 640nm red laser module, there's a red-emitting diode and a lens to collimate (focus) the beam.

In a 532nm green laser (module or larger size), there's a BIG infrared laser diode that generates laser light at 808nm, this is fired into a crystal containing the rare-earth element "neodymium". This crystal takes the 808nm infrared light and lases at 1064nm (yes, deeper in the infrared!). This 1064nm laser light comes out of the NdYV04 (neodymium yttrium vanadium oxide) crystal and is then shot into a second crystal (containing potassium, titanium, & phosphorus, usually called KTP) that doubles the frequency to 532nm - the bright green color you see. This light is then collimated (focused) by a lens and emerges out the laser's "business end". Just before the lens, there's a filter that removes any stray IR (infrared) rays from the pump diode and the neodymium crystal. You don't want that stuff in your green beam, trust me. :-)

This is why green diode lasers are so much more expensive than red ones. Lots of itty bitty parts, and they all need to be aligned by hand. If the polarisation is "off", one or both crystals need to be turned. With red diode lasers, you just slap in the diode and slap a lens in front of it.

The only thing that really pisses me off about this laser is that it's so darn-diddly-arn unstable -- power output fluctuates quite visibly.

Beam photograph on the test target at 12".
Measures 48.33mW on a Sper Scientific Pocket Laser Power Meter # 840011; using a known-new CR123A cell.

Power output was remeasured at 28mW on a LaserBee 2.5W USB Laser Power Meter w/Thermopile.

Beam photograph on a wall at ~10 feet.

Photograph of the unit with the front "head" removed.

Spectrographic analysis of this laser.

Spectrographic analysis of this laser; spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 781nm and 830nm to show NIR laser line from the pump diode.

NIR filtering is actually quite good; I had to "overload" the spectrometer by a significant degree just to get this "hump" to show. Here, let me show you with the following chart:

Spectrographic analysis

See how much I had to overload the instrument to get that little piddling NIR laser line?

USB2000 spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.

ProMetric analysis

Beam cross-sectional analysis.

Image made using the ProMetric System by Radiant Imaging.

TEST NOTES:
Test unit was purchased on Ebay on 05-01-11 (or "01 May 2011" or even "May 01, Twenty Double Sticks" if you prefer), and was received at 4:20pm PDT on 05-05-11 (or "05 May 2011" or "May 05, Twenty Double Sticks" or even "Cinco de Mayo 2011" if you prefer).

Unit was found to be rather unstable; varying in power output from a hundred or so 琺 (microwatts) to over 48mW (milliwatts) with no apparent pattern.

UPDATE: 00-00-00

PROS:
Interesting shape
Feels rather hefty in the hand
Beam is relatively clean with no speckling or other artifacts in it

CONS:
Very unstable output power (this is, by far, what nocked the most off its rating)
No CDRH-mandated "Laser radiation is emitted from this aperture..." warning label.
Not very water-resistant -- but most other lasers aren't. Will not affect rating

Unknown

Green-emitting laser

DPSS laser module

Very narrow spot

Momentary pushbutton on/off on barrel

Metal

Metal; laser recessed into a hosel for it

1x CR123A cell

285mA

Very light splatter-resistant at maximum

﹛·ARA LOS MOTIVOS NO DE CRISTO!!!

1x CR123A cell, small lanyard

112mm L x 25mm D (barrel) & 39mm D (head)

Not equipped to weigh

Unknown

Unknown/not stated

Super Visible Green Beam Laser Module *

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