Industrial Productivity and Manufacturing
Technology
Super-compact Laser
A super-compact laser for dedicated manufacturing applications was made
possible by NASA's need for laser instruments to study Earth as well as
investigate the distant shores of Mars.
Microcosm, Inc. of Columbia, Maryland produced the portable FarField-2
laser for field applications that require high power pulsed illumination.
The compact design was conceived through research at Goddard Space Flight
Center on laser instruments for space missions to carry out geoscience
studies of Earth.
| The power supply and the FarField-2 laser
are packaged together in a small air -cooled housing. Despite its size,
the laser is robust making it appropriate for industrial, laboratory and
mobile use. |
An exclusive license to the key NASA patent for the compact laser design
was assigned to Microcosm. Because the FarField laser is so small and can
use such a range of power supplies, it is an ideal portable laser for field
applications. The commercial utility of the solid-state laser equipment
appears promising.
Microcosm's FarField-2 is a miniature solid-state ultraviolet laser,
using a Neodymium-Yttrium-Aluminum-Garnet (Nd:YAG) crystal. It also produces
green or infrared outputs. Weighing less than 22-pounds, the laser has
dimensions of 10.5 x 12 x 4 inches.
FarField-2 has several advantages over excimer lasers, argon-ion lasers,
or nitrogen lasers. While compact, the device provides three wavelengths
simultaneously, has low power consumption, does not need water cooling
or gas supplies, and produces nearly ideal beam quality.
| A beam from the FarField-2 Laser is captured
in a glass box. Microcosm, Inc. produces lasers for field applications
that require high power pulsed illumination. |
The power supply and the FarField-2 laser are packaged together in an
air-cooled housing. Despite its diminutive dimensions, the laser is robust
making it appropriate for industrial, laboratory and mobile use. Microcosm
sees applications for the FarField-2 in materials science and processing,
as well as taking on duties in biology and medicine. Examples of commercial
applications include diamond marking, semiconductor line-cutting, chromosome
surgery, and fluorescence microscopy.
The properties of the FarField-2 laser make it effective over long distances.
That attribute and others is why NASA developed the technology for laser
altimeters that can be toted aboard spacecraft. Pulses from the device
can fire many times each second. By measuring the length of time it takes
for the light to return to the spacecraft-mounted laser, scientists can
determine the distance to a planet's surface. Data collected can be used
to construct highly accurate topographic maps.
| Dr. Patrick Huddie, CEO and Dr. Wayne
Moore, President of Microcosm, Inc., display the FarField-2 Laser. Research
on laser instruments for NASA missions made the compact design possible. |
The FarField-2 has been used in combination with microscopes to create
spot sizes of less than one micrometer in diameter. Capable of reaching
high energy levels, the laser can create a beam that behaves like a cutting
tool. That penetrating power can be utilized for drilling holes and cutting
lines, critical applications in the semiconductor industry, in materials
science and materials processing.
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