Lasers: Safety, Info, Links, Parts; Diode, HeNe, Ar/Kr Ion Lasers


   ************************************************************************
   *  Lasers: Safety, Info, Links, Parts; Diode, HeNe, Ar/Kr Ion Lasers   *
   *                                                                      *
   *           A Practical Guide for Experimenters and Hobbyists          *
   *                                                                      *
   *                       **** Version 3.25 ****                         *
   *                                                                      *
   *                  Copyright (C) 1994,1995,1996,1997                   *
   *                        Samuel M. Goldwasser                          *
   *        Corrections or suggestions to: sam@stdavids.picker.com        *
   *                                                                      *
   *                     --- All Rights Reserved ---                      *
   *                                                                      *
   *    Reproduction of this document in whole or in part is permitted    *
   *    if both of the following conditions are satisfied:                *
   *                                                                      *
   *     1. This notice is included in its entirety at the beginning.     *
   *     2. There is no charge except to cover the costs of copying.      *
   *                                                                      *
   ************************************************************************



Welcome!


This document (called Sam's Laser FAQ by some) has a great deal of practical
information on many laser related topics including: basic laser safety, diode
and HeNe laser drive requirements, power supply design considerations, laser
and parts sources, other general items of interest, references, and links.  It
includes schematics for *8* diode laser drivers and *15* complete helium neon
laser power supplies as well as other support circuits like regulators and
modulators.  A new chapter has been added dealing with the characteristics,
setup, and maintenance of 'small' air-cooled argon and krypton (rare gas) ion
lasers.

If this was what you were looking for, your search is over! :-)

The following mirror sites (no pun...) will always maintain a reasonably
current version of this document:

1. http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/3931/ (Laser Resource Library)
   http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/3931/lasersam.htm (Direct link)

2. http://www.misty.com/~don/laserdon.html (Don Klipstein's laser page)
   http://www.misty.com/~don/lasersam.html (Direct link)

3. http://www.pacwest.net/byron13/ (Byron Miller's web site)
   http://www.pacwest.net/byron13/lasersam.htm (Direct link)
   http://www.pacwest.net/byron13/laserfaq.zip (Zipped)

4. http://www.repairfaq.org/ (Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ site)
   http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/TEXT/laserfaq/lasersam.htm (Direct Link)
   http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/TEXT/laserfaq/laserfaq.zip (Downloadable zipped)
   http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_laser.html (V3.00, formatted)

Sites (1) to (3) are currently snapshots of the raw ASCII document (now nearly
600 KB).  Site (4) will have a nicely formatted, indexed, and cross referenced
version (courtesy of Filip G.).  At present, there are several copies at this
site including an almost current formatted one (V3.00) and a very recent ASCII
version (V3.16 or higher).

The entries labeled 'Zipped' include the text and all referenced artwork
(diagrams, photographs, and schematics) in one compressed file.  Thus, this is
the most convenient to download.  Just unzip it into its own directory and add
a bookmark to the file: "lasersam.htm" in your browser!

Note: where another 'document' title is referenced without identification of
a specific book or paper, it will be located at the Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ
web site.

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