Infrared Lasers

Infrared Lasers

Infrared or IR lasers have a beam that is in the infrared spectrum which is from 750nm to 1nm in wavelength. This is a longer wavelength than visible light and a shorter wavelength than radio waves. With a beam that is invisible to the naked eye, IR lasers cannot be used for many normal applications such as light shows or alignment. This makes our Stealth IR laser pointer a specialist laser pointer that is not used by the average laser enthusiasts.

IR lasers are used by military forces and government agencies world wide in a number of uses. IR lasers are ideal for target acquisition on the battle field where a target can be “painted” with out revealing the lasers location. IR lasers are ideal for use with night vision devices that enhance IR. The invisible nature of IR lasers also makes them ideal for covert monitoring and surveillance. IR lasers are also used in both civilian and military capacity for explosive detection. CWE (chemical warfare agents) absorb IR light, giving them a unique fingerprint detectable by IR lasers. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the USA is working on a portable system for using IR lasers to detect CWEs.

Security systems and alarms based on IR laser beams are very effective because intruders are unable to see the beam or know they have triggered an alert. IR lasers have featured in a number of block buster movies in this capacity though normally with technical inaccuracies.

There are also a number of medical applications for IR lasers such as treating soft tissue injuries, promoting healing and as a treatment for acne. There are numerous documented cases where IR lasers such as our Stealth laser pointer have been successfully used to reduce swelling and inflammation of acute and chronic injuries.

Safety

Safety is a very important issue with IR lasers for two major reasons. Firstly because the beam is invisible, there is no way to avoid the beam and the eyes natural protective blink reflex will not work. The second is that normal protective eye wear for lasers will not work on IR lasers. Safety glasses that are opaque to 532nm and provide more than adequate protection against green laser pointers and portable lasers BUT will be completely transparent to IR lasers such as our Stealth laser pointer. IR lasers need safety glasses specific to IR light.