Re: Laser x-y game

There is a method of deflection that does not use galvanomters. Basically
it uses a material that has a refractive index that varies when it is
either in or out of an electric field. Usually this is a high voltage(kV)
By cascading N stages of the material an N bit number can be used to direct
the deflection of the beam. The benefit of this method is speed. A galvo
cannot match the deflection speed of this approach (not even close). Of
course the disadvantage is cost. I believe this is called a Pockels cell(sp?)
and it is expensive.

On the subject of Z intensity, what is desired is a ND (neutral
density filter) that can be dialed in electronically. I don't know how
to do that :)

On the colour aspect, a tunable laser would be cool. I do not know of
any however that have a wide range of tunability. I used to work with
a material called Alexandrite that had crystal properties that allowed
you to make a laser that could be tuned. Not over a reasonable range
though for a video game though :)

Hedley
Received on Wed May 28 15:13:48 1997