North American engineering support for out-of-warranty Litron nanosecond systems, including the Nano and LPY families and the dual-cavity heads supplied inside PIV systems sold under other brands. Component-level evaluation of flashlamps, cooling, pulse-forming networks, Q-switch drivers and inter-cavity timing. Written findings before any repair.
Litron Lasers is a UK manufacturer of flashlamp-pumped and diode-pumped nanosecond Nd:YAG systems, and its heads are in service across US laboratories.
Litron supplies dual-cavity laser heads that are integrated into particle image velocimetry systems sold under other brands. A fluid dynamics group can therefore operate a Litron laser for years without the name appearing in front of the operator. If your PIV head carries a Litron label, or your documentation references a Nano or LPY model, this page is about your system, and we can evaluate it.
Litron’s published distributor listing gives its head office in Rugby, England as the USA contact, and its service-centre information names a US service contractor in Cranston, Rhode Island. Where that route works for you, use it. Where you need a domestic independent option for an out-of-warranty system, we are in Parsippany, New Jersey, and we work at component level on the flashlamp, cooling, pulse-forming network, Q-switch and timing subsystems these platforms depend on.
Parts availability established for your serial number before we quote, findings in writing before any repair, and no work beyond the approved scope.
We provide independent service and repair support for the families below, and we settle the parts situation for your serial number before we quote.
Send us your configuration and we will confirm the scope. On these platforms the cavity arrangement, the generation of the PFN and control electronics, the harmonic module fitted and the cooling loop condition matter more than the model name, and the parts question has to be answered for your specific serial number before any repair can be quoted.
Consumable by design. Aging presents as falling energy, rising trigger requirement, and eventually failure to fire.
Rod and coating condition, and the mount and seal holding it in the flow path.
A classic aging failure, and a common cause of coolant where coolant should not be.
Flow, heat exchanger, filters, resin and conductivity. Presents as falling energy and thermal instability rather than as an obvious leak.
Pulse-forming network and HV charging supply. Capacitor aging is expected at these ages, and this is repairable electronics.
Pockels cell assembly, driver, timing and hold-off behavior. Determines whether you get a Q-switched pulse at all.
The timing relationship between the two cavities and the trigger chain that sets the pulse separation. On a PIV system this is the measurement, so a timing fault is a system-level failure.
Second and higher harmonic generators, crystals, ovens and separation optics, assessed after the fundamental has been measured.
Mirrors, apertures and the alignment that sets energy and beam quality.
Internal and external trigger paths, lamp and Q-switch synchronization, interlocks, shutters, control boards and remote panels.
Send the model, a photograph of the product label and the symptoms. We review it and respond with the next step.
On flashlamp-pumped platforms the parts situation decides whether a repair is possible, so we deal with it before quoting rather than after.
The evaluation establishes what your system needs. We then check availability for those specific parts and tell you in writing what can be obtained, what would have to be repaired rather than replaced, what would have to be engineered, and what cannot be sourced at all.
Every job runs on a written scope. The order below exists to eliminate a branch cheaply before the next, more invasive step is justified.
Every engagement names its measurements before it starts. PhaseX defines and provides the measurement capability the project requires. Depending on the system and the question being answered, that is owned, rented or qualified third-party measurement resources arranged as required. The evaluation proposal states which measurements will be made, by what method, and where each one comes from, together with the acceptance criteria the work is judged against.
| Measurement | What it establishes |
|---|---|
| Drive current against command | Whether a commanded setpoint reaches the driver and produces real current, which separates a control-path fault from an optical one |
| Supply, rail and protection behavior | Rail integrity under load, sequencing, and protection states that cap output without reporting anything |
| Timing, trigger and switching | Trigger and synchronization paths, driver and Pockels cell switching, and pulse-train structure |
| Optical power and pulse energy by wavelength | Real output at each wavelength on a defined and terminated path, with the detector, wavelength response, attenuation and measurement point stated |
| Optical pulse presence and repetition rate | Whether an optical pulse train exists at all, and its relationship to the trigger |
| Spectral condition | Emission wavelength and bandwidth, and confirmation that the light being measured is the light assumed |
| Beam and mode condition | Spatial condition of the output, and evidence of optic, fiber or alignment damage in the delivery path |
| Thermal behavior under load | Cooling loops, TEC and oven control, and thermal derating that presents as a silent power limit |
| Pulse duration and beam quality | Specified where the project requires it, and performed with the measurement resource identified in the proposal |
In-house instrumentation currently includes a RIGOL MHO984 oscilloscope and a Joulescope JS320 for electrical, current, timing and pulse-train work. Optical metrology is specified per project and provided through owned, rented or qualified third-party measurement resources arranged as required and named in the proposal. We do not publish an equipment inventory in place of a measurement plan, and we do not offer manufacturer-equivalent calibration or certification to original published specifications where the original acceptance data and the corresponding standards are unavailable.
A system that cannot be brought to its normal operating state on the bench cannot be diagnosed. For bench evaluation we normally need:
On discontinued platforms the customer's own paperwork is frequently the only surviving record of the configuration. Send it even when it looks irrelevant.
We receive systems from outside the United States, including from Canadian universities and research institutes. We provide the commercial documentation a repair shipment normally requires and coordinate with your shipping office. Customs classification, duties, temporary import treatment and clearance timing remain the sender's responsibility, and we do not give customs guarantees. Insurance is the sender's decision and should reflect replacement value. We document the as-received condition on arrival, which is the evidence you would need if transit damage has occurred.
We are direct about the work we take on, so we are equally direct about the two boundaries.
If your system is still inside its manufacturer warranty, use the manufacturer, or get written authorization from the seller first. Our work is out-of-warranty and legacy equipment, which is where the support gap sits in any case.
Class 4 work is planned and executed under a project-specific laser safety plan. The required engineering controls, personal protective equipment, beam management and facility conditions are defined in writing before any energized optical work begins, and the infrastructure that plan calls for is provided within the project scope. Where a laboratory's own controls are involved, final hazard analysis and approval stay with the institution's LSO or EHS function.
PhaseX Laser Services is an independent third-party service provider, not affiliated with or authorized by any manufacturer named on this page unless expressly stated in writing. Brand and model names identify equipment only.
If your PIV system was sold under an integrator's brand, the laser head label is what tells us what we are dealing with. Send that, the serial number, the lamp hours if you have them, and what the system does now.
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