14 May 2013 You can construct a very fast (sub-microsecond) mechanical shutter for laser beams, using a voice coil actuator from a hard disc drive. Details are at the shutter website and described in the paper Enhanced laser shutter using a hard disk drive voice-coil actuator, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 78 026101 (2007).
The shutter, and variations based on loudspeaker voice coils, relay actuators and other electromechanical devices, are easily constructed, but the electronics can be a nuisance. MOGlabs offer an advanced version of the circuit described in the paper above. Use with any standard "wall-wart" plugpack power supply (DC 12 to 48 V). It offers both manual (toggle switch) and TTL control, and will drive a forward or reverse current, up to 6 amps. Please contact us for further information. |
