Got Red?

Ok - got some info back. Semrock (located in Rochester, NY) may be able to help us. I just got off the phone with Colleen (585) 594-7055, and she told me all about their operation. They make custom dichros, notch filters, Rugate filters, you name it. They price everything by area, and they do offer volume discounts.

She said they have an off-the-shelf product that transmits from 660 nm to 825 nm, and reflects from 640 nm to 500 nm. They guarentee a minimum of 90% transmission efficiency at 660 nm, and 98% reflective efficiency at 640 nm. She also said that their specs were *very* conservative, and that we could probably expect 93% transmission and 99% reflective efficiency.

Now to cost: A lot of ten dichros that are 12 mm in size (doesn't matter if they are round or square) will cost $960 + shipping. So thats $96 each plus shipping. Not too bad, eh? To jump up to a 25 mm size (again, round or square) will cost $168 each plus shipping.

She said that it would take about a week to 10 days to process the order. She also said that if we ordered more than 10 units, the price would come down. As an example, an order of 100 of the 12 mm units would bring the cost down to around $60 per dichro.

Finally, I asked her about the possibility of mixing 473 nm with either 445 nm or 405 nm. They have filters that will do both. In particular, they have an off-the-shelf component that is a notch filter designed for 404 nm light. It will work with 405 nm by simply adjusting the angle of incidence by a degree or so. (44 degrees vs 45 degrees) She's got a computer program that she can use to predict all sorts of other effects with their filters in various alignments, so if you can think of another dichro solution we should be looking at, give her a call! She seriously knows her stuff!

So - whatcha think guys? Is this worth pursuing? How many people would be interested in paying a hundred bucks for a 12 mm dichro that would reflect 635 nm and pass 660 nm?

Adam

PS: I *told* you this was doable...:D

I think we need to get some more quotes first.

Yes, it seems a tad high...

Someone needs to see if Marconi is interested in building a few 75 to 125mw 635nm units. I would take one.

Me too!!

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Well at work it's now forbotten to log-on / chat on the internet-- so its goodbye to the day-talk :( Ive still at least got email though ..:rolleyes: I'll miss Y'all during the day.. Damn.. had to happen sooner or later i guess..

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Adam- I'm glad you solved the riddle-- sounds hopeful for the ultimate RED!!!

$100 per unit is the price to beat so far. (Based on a 12 mm dichro) I got two quotes back for $500 plus per dichro, and one for $185 per dichro but it would have to be adjusted to a 50 degree angle in order to work. (changing the angle of incidence either way from 45 degrees shifts the wavelength that it reflects.)

Still waiting to hear from 2 more companies, but I don't think they'll beat Semrock's price. Personally I think 100 bucks is a good price for such a small run of custom dichros. (After all, Edmund's charges $40 for their standard units, and they couldn't help at all with custom orders...)

Anyone else get a reply yet?

Adam

$100 seems pretty good to me, given it's a bit of an obscure request

Thats sounded great Buffo! I love the idea to mix 660nm and 635nm :)
But I must think about the dichro! So I will come back to it :D

I found a company, http://www.dichroic.com/, and have requested a quote. They replied to my first inquiry if they could make them but gave no prices. :rolleyes:

Damn steve-o, facists huh? :D have to start bringing your own laptop to work for the forum...

I have also sent Bridge a PM on this.