Hello.

Diachi · Post by **Diachi** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 8:57 pm

Hello !

I am a new member here ( Obviously

) ,my name is Adam Gordon and I've been interested in lasers for over a year now. I started off with my interests in pointers, then moved on to gas lasers and laser projectors, now I have decided that I would branch out further and learn about holography. I'm currently saving for a Lexel model 88 argon ion laser.

I have seen pictures of some peoples setups and pictures of the finished holograph, and I must say : WOW! Some people here have produced some really nice work.

Anyway, I'm going to continue reading up on holography and when I have the budget hopefully I'll make a start !

If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask

thanks !

-Adam

Colin Kaminski · Post by **Colin Kaminski** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 1:33 am

Hi Adam,

Welcome! For around $150 and a days worth of effort you can make your first hologram. Or, it is much easier to make one as a guest in a lab first. I wish I had done it that way. It would have taken much of the struggle from my first few boxes of plates.

Colin

JohnFP · Post by **JohnFP** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:04 pm

Hello Adam. You're going all the way with that laser. I have some questions.
Is it 3 phase and water cooled?
What is the coherence length?
Does it have or need an intracavity etalon?
Does it even have space within the cavity to put in an etalon?
At 2 watts rating, I would imagine you would only get about .48 watt MAX out if it in the 514 and 488 lines, now halve that for etalon waste and you're down to about 240mw. I recomment not running these lasers at full power as they are old (like mine) and suggest running it at about 75% max. Now your down to 150 - 180 mw max.

Again this is alot of energy but have you considered all variables in this laser? I am just making sure you have done your homework before investing in one of these beasts.

I have a Spectra Physics 164 and 165. So if you need any help or advice on these, feel free to ask.

Peace,
John

wler · Post by **wler** » Sat May 02, 2009 7:03 am

Hi,

I got a Lexel 88 as well, there are some things to note (see my web page for details). The version that is most common on the surplus market is an OEM version for medical equipment (there was a major factory buyout a few years ago). This version does not come with littrow prism, etalon and not even single transverse mode mirrors. You need all of this in order to do serious work with holography. But they are not easily availably, it took me a lot of time to gather those parts second hand (like 1.5 years). I also experimented with etalons and prisms of other brands, with sub-optimal results. The mirrors are less of a problem, though, there are all the time some on ebay and with some little cut and try one can find suitable ones cheaply.

Diachi · Post by **Diachi** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:15 am

Hello,

Thank you for the help !

@ wler , I have seen you site, it's what actually hooked my interests !

@ JohnFP, The Lexel 88 is single phase water cooled, and in all honesty I don't know much about it, I know it doesn't have an etalon and that it uses multiline optics, doesn't look like there would be space for an etalon either. I was originally planning to put it into show use.

------------

I have also looked all over the UK for a spectra physics 164/5/8 but sadly it was to no avail . I got offered a Coherent I-90 with krypton fill ( just the head ) for free, but it was 300 miles away and the seller wasn't willing to ship it.

Thanks,

-Adam