As for a collimating mirror, why not use a parabolic mirror designed for a telescope?
I was told by an holographer many years ago that a spherical mirror was more suitable for holography, as they are often used off-axis.
Maybe an optical expert can interject here?
I only measured the power of my unexpanded laser beam once, just to confirm the laser's performance.
Now I only measure the power density of the expanded beam hitting the plate.
I used this info into make my own:
http://redlum.xohp.pagesperso-orange.fr ... meter.html
For a shutter, I use a modified moving coil meter and a remote electronic timer.
The electronic timer is an off the shelf unit designed for camera use.
Some use parts from a failed hard drive with a small mirror attached as a shutter and dump the beam to a heatsink.
YMMV, but unless you are considering advanced techniques like real image plain holograms, you shouldn't need a collimating mirror.
I'm just using single beam Denisyuk for display holograms.
I don't need the beam collimated, or an expensive optical table and heavy scaffolding to hold optical components.
I'm using a Coherent Compass and a short FL concave mirror as my beam expander.
The beam path from the concave mirror to the 5"x7" plate is about 3.8 metres, so it's not too divergent,
but expanded enough to give an even exposure across most of the plate.
My honest advice would be to leave the collimating mirror off your shopping list until you have a definite need for it.
Steven.
As for a collimating mirror, why not use a parabolic mirror designed for a telescope?
I was told by an holographer many years ago that a spherical mirror was more suitable for holography, as they are often used off-axis.
Maybe an optical expert can interject here?
I only measured the power of my unexpanded laser beam once, just to confirm the laser's performance.
Now I only measure the power density of the expanded beam hitting the plate.
I used this info into make my own:
http://redlum.xohp.pagesperso-orange.fr/electronics/lightmeter.html
For a shutter, I use a modified moving coil meter and a remote electronic timer.
The electronic timer is an off the shelf unit designed for camera use.
Some use parts from a failed hard drive with a small mirror attached as a shutter and dump the beam to a heatsink.
YMMV, but unless you are considering advanced techniques like real image plain holograms, you shouldn't need a collimating mirror.
I'm just using single beam Denisyuk for display holograms.
I don't need the beam collimated, or an expensive optical table and heavy scaffolding to hold optical components.
I'm using a Coherent Compass and a short FL concave mirror as my beam expander.
The beam path from the concave mirror to the 5"x7" plate is about 3.8 metres, so it's not too divergent,
but expanded enough to give an even exposure across most of the plate.
My honest advice would be to leave the collimating mirror off your shopping list until you have a definite need for it.
Steven.