Specifications

2. First light
Initialinstallationofthelaseristypicallyamatterofmountingit
toanopticaltableandconnectingtoaMOGLabscontroller. The
laser canbemounted toposts using theM3 threadedholes onthe
base, orby removingthecover andscrewing directlytothe optical
tableusingtheM6x25socketheadcapscrewsprovided. The hole
spacingalsoallowsdirectmountingtoimperialtablesfornon-metric
countries (Burma, Liberia and the USA).
Thelaserincludesawatercoolingchannelforlaseroperationat
unusually highor lowtemperatures,or inlaboratorieswithhigh or
unstableairtemperature. Formostapplications,watercoolingis
not required;dissipation tothe airand/or optical tableis sufficient.
Theperformanceofanexternalcavitydiodelaserisstronglyde-
pendentontheexternal environment,andinparticularacoustic vi-
brations. Verysmallchangesintheexternalcavitylengthhavea
largeeffect onthelaser frequency,typically25MHzpernanometre
lengthchange. ThemonolithicblockconstructionoftheMOGLabs
CELreducestheinfluenceofvibrationsonthecavitylength,butsome
elasticityremains. Acousticdisturbancesintheairgapalsoaffect
thefrequency.Activefeedbackto thelaserfrequencyreduces these
influences, but some simple measuresto minimise coupling to envi-
ronmentalvariationsandvibrationsourcesmaybewarranted. For
example, asurroundingboxtoreduceairmovementandaccidental
bumpingofthelaser;mountingthelasertoaheavysupport,andiso-
lationfromtheopticaltablewithanintermediarybreadboardwhich
isseparatedfromthemainopticaltablewithviscoelasticpolymer
(e.g. Sorbothane
TM
).
Once the laser is mounted appropriately,the laser can be switched
on. Pleaserefertothesuppliedtestdatafornominaltemperature
andcurrentsettings,andinparticularbeawareofthemaximum
current limit.
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