Helium Neon Lasers

Helium neon lasers (HeNe) are the most commonly used gas laser. Helium neon lasers have an emission that is determined by neon atoms by virtue of a resonant transfer of excitation of helium. They operate continuously in the red, infrared and far-infrared regions, emitting highly monochromatic radiation.

Helium neon lasers can emit light throughout a wide spectral range.  Some of these devices are configured to hit only specified regions while others can be switched to reach the entire field.  Some of the most common configurations outputs include red, green, yellow, orange and infrared. Red output (632.8 nm) is the most popular of the HeNe laser types. The green output, at 543.5 nm, has up to five times the visibility of red lasers with the same output power. The wavelength closely corresponds to the peak absorption bands of fluorescent dyes. The yellow output at 594.1 nm, closely corresponds to the sodium "d" and "D" lines that are used as a spectral reference in the optical industry, and several popular fluorescent dyes.  Orange output helium neon lasers (611.9 nm) are approximately 35% more visible than red output at the same power levels. Infrared output at 1,523 nm is and ideal source for testing fiber optics, because this wavelength closely matches fiber optic communication bands.

When selecting between the available helium neon lasers for a specific application, there are a number of important specifications to consider, in addition to the color output of the laser.  These specifications include laser power (usual given in milliwatts), beam diameter, beam divergence (the change in beam diameter as a function of distance from the laser), longitudinal mode spacing (the frequency spacing between the longitudinal modes, often called the free spectral range of the laser resonant cavity), and noise or RMS (the root mean square change in amplitude).

Helium neon lasers are used widely in commercial and industrial applications.  They are use in barcode scanners, holography, non-contact measuring and monitoring, tool alignment, parts detection, blood analysis and alignment of high power CO2 and YAG treatment lasers and pointing beams.

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Part Numbers for Helium Neon Lasers