Advances in Laser Diode and OPSL Technologies Render Ion and Metal Vapor Lasers Obsolete

There are now many applications for visible and UV continuous wave lasers in the tens to hundreds of milliwatts power range, covering e.g. life sciences, metrology and inspection. Originally these were dominated by ion and HeCd metal vapor lasers due to their early availability. However, these sources are characterized by numerous well-known practical deficiencies (e.g., large size, electrical inefficiency, limited reliability and lifetime, high cost of ownership) which made them quite vulnerable to next generation technology. As a result, solid-state lasers (laser diode modules and crystal based lasers e.g. of Nd:YAG type) captured a significant market share upon their introduction. Still, these solid-state lasers were not a panacea, having several drawbacks of their own. This enabled ion and HeCd lasers to persist in the marketplace for far longer than many industry experts predicted. But, now the development of high performance laser diode modules and nextgeneration optically pumped semiconductor lasers (OPSLs) has completely overcome the drawbacks of earlier solid-state lasers. Specifically, these new lasers offer advantages over virtually every aspect of legacy ion/metal vapor technologies, including performance, size, power consumption and heat dissipation, reliability and lifetime, and cost of ownership. This whitepaper compares these technologies and shows why the end of these venerable gas lasers is finally at hand.