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Thank you all so much for the great suggestions. Following the
suggested direction, I searched and found an application note from Newport
(no competing interest). There are two beams out of the Glan-Laser prism -
one is the main beam output and the other is called the beam dump. I am
wondering if I can achieve any split between the main output and the dump
by varying the degree of the half wave plate. I assume the sum of the main
output power and the dump power is close to the Ti:Sa laser power (~1.3 W
for our system at 800 nm).
Brian, can you share your AOM information? Thanks.
Sheng
On Tue, Jan 29, 2013 at 4:36 PM, Armstrong, Brian <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Hi, yes, and for a rotation mount we used: Newport RSP-IT (
> http://www.newport.com/Optic-Rotation-Mounts/177122/1033/info.aspx) [no
> competing interest].
> We can adjust the percent power sent to each microscope this way. (The
> beam then goes through an AOM which adjusts the percent remaining power to
> the microscope, [so we have two AOMs]).
>
> Cheers,
>
> Brian D Armstrong PhD
> Assistant Research Professor
> Director, Light Microscopy Core
> Beckman Research Institute
> City of Hope
> Dept of Neuroscience
> 1450 E Duarte Rd
> Duarte, CA 91010
> 626-256-4673 x62872
>
>
> http://www.cityofhope.org/research/support/Light-Microscopy-Digital-Imaging/Pages/default.aspx
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Craig Brideau
> Sent: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 1:19 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: A question about splitting a TiSa laser beam and controlling
> its power
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> As Johannes says, you need optomechanics to rotate the waveplate. You can
> either use a manual rotation mount (you don't need very fine control, so a
> thumb-wheel is fine), or if you are adverse to sticking your hand anywhere
> near the beam you can use a motorized mount. In systems with other safety
> mechanisms, (i.e. laser blocks and such) I have used manual mounts. In
> situations where it will be used by inexperienced users I tend to motorize
> things to keep untrained hands away from the laser and optics.
>
> Craig
>
>
> On Tue, Jan 29, 2013 at 2:05 PM, Johannes Helm <[log in to unmask]
> >wrote:
>
> > *****
> > To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> > http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> > *****
> >
> > Good evening,
> >
> > Craig has already provided the answer, see below.
> >
> > I just would like to mention in addition that one can buy lambda/2
> plates,
> > which show the lambda/2 effect with minor deviations, only, i.e.: are
> > achromatic, over the entire wavelength range of the usual approx. 680nm -
> > approx. 1060nm Ti:Sap lasers common in non linear laser scanning
> > microscopy (and have AR coatings for that entire wavelength range). They
> > are possibly somewhat more expensive than lambda/2 plates but may
> > nevertheless be the item of choice. I do not have ANY commercial
> > affiliations and, hence, allow myself to mention that I personally have
> > experienced that the achromatic lambda/2 plates from Halle are excellent
> > units for the purpose, www.b-halle.de .
> >
> > Of course, one also will need a suitable polarization beam splitter and
> > the opto mechanics to position and adjust both, the lambda/2 plate and
> the
> > polarization beam splitter in the appropriate way. Glan prisms, as Craig
> > mentioned, will be excellent for the purpose but they usually will emit
> > not one but one main and one minor deflected beam under an angle
> different
> > from 90 degrees, while conventional polarization beam splitters will emit
> > the deflected beam at roughly 90 degrees. Also, check out before buying
> > any beam splitter about potential "un-flatnesses" on the lateral surfaces
> > of the Glan prism or Polarization beam splitter. A Foster prism might
> also
> > be a good item if you want one beam to continue straight forward and the
> > other to continue at 45 degrees or so.
> >
> >
> >
> > Also, if you want to install that lambda/2 plate on an optical table with
> > a lot of other elements like EOMs, photodiodes, spatial filters, beam
> > expanders and the like and if all will be "hidden" behind a metal curtain
> > to protect laser radiation from becoming dangerous in the lab, then you
> > should consider to install the lambda/2 plate in a motor driven rotator,
> > which you can control from a PC.
> >
> > Best wishes,
> >
> > Johannes
> >
> >
> > > *****
> > > To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> > > http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> > > *****
> > >
> > > A Glan-Laser prism and half-waveplate (NIR Achromatic) will work. The
> > > prism splits the laser into two beams, with the amount of power going
> > into
> > > each beam governed by the angle of the waveplate. Note you may need
> > > another waveplate to rotate the polarization of one of the beams back
> > into
> > > your microscope.
> > >
> > > Craig
> > >
> > >
> > > On Tue, Jan 29, 2013 at 11:41 AM, yuansheng sun
> > > <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> > >
> > >> *****
> > >> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> > >> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> > >> *****
> > >>
> > >> Dear Listers,
> > >>
> > >> I want to split the laser beam from a TiSa laser (700~1000 nm, 1.3W at
> > >> 800
> > >> nm). I know some people did this way to feed one TiSa laser to two
> > >> microscopes. I am wondering if I can get a simple beam splitter for
> > >> this
> > >> purpose. And also, what would be the simple (and reliable) device you
> > >> would suggest to control the TiSa laser power? Thanks a lot in
> advance
> > >> for
> > >> any suggestion.
> > >>
> > >> Best regards,
> > >> Yuansheng Sun,
> > >> Keck Center for Cellular Imaging
> > >> University of Virginia
> > >>
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > P. Johannes Helm
> >
> > Voice: (+47) 228 51159 (office)
> > Fax: (+47) 228 51499 (office)
> >
>
>
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