532nm vs. 520nm

[Sanjew]

I'm thinking about buying from sflasers.us but the model I wanted is out of stock. So I contacted the guy, and he says that all custom green lasers are 532nm instead of regular 520nm. Is the 532nm less visible? I don't really care all that much about the IR leakage, but I might as well take advice from the best.

 

[Npglaserer]

Well, 532nm is often considered the "regular" green around here.

532nm light will be brighter than 520 at the same power.

 

[Sanjew]

Is it that much of a difference?

 

[ARG]

Is it that much of a difference?

Not really. The only difference I notice is the difference in hue.

At the same powers I can't tell the difference in brightness.

 

[Grix]

520nm is much better IMO. It is much more stable and reliable and has better beam specs.

 

[Marco Polo]

In terms of reliability, my 532nm DPSS lasers are by far the most reliable. I've never had one fail on me. The only instabilities I've noticed are that my Skylasers 200mW mode-hops a bit (stays almost tem00, just with different 'patterns' inside the gaussian area), and that the 532nm lasers really don't like excessive cold. It reduces the power output noticeably. By "excessive cold" I mean in the 20's (Fahrenheit, i.e. below 0 degrees C), dead of winter. An air-conditioned room likely won't affect them at all. Apparently you can kill them with too much heat as well but I've never been able to do it, even when I tried, so I consider them pretty reliable in that regard as well.

In terms of the IR leakage the ONLY real problem with it is that short-wavelength safety glasses won't protect you from it. Unless specifically rated otherwise, your 250 to 550nm safety glasses will pass the IR component (a few tens of mW) as if the goggles were not even there. For naked eye viewing, the IR component doesn't matter - the green output is high enough to be dangerous in its own right and so obviously you're going to avoid it. The IR beam is slightly, but not much more, divergent, so if you avoid the green beam you will avoid the IR beam as well.

You can observe the IR beam by using your short-wavelength safety glasses and your digital camera. There's the IR beam from my Lazerer 532nm 100mW.

If you just want a green laser 532nm is the way to go. Hell, go for them both. It's interesting to see the color difference between 532 and 520. The difference in beam profile is also readily apparent.

 

[mortuus]

I would go for 520 since its a diode and a little more unique then the regular 532 lasers and 520 to me looks more green then 532nm.