[Laser] Wicked Lasers Fusion (125mW 532nm) Modulation

[Joseph Battaglia]

Hey guys,

I recently purchased a Wicked Lasers Fusion 
(http://www.wickedlasers.com/lasers/Executive_Series-55-3.html - the 532nm 
125mW model) for use in a raster laser projector I'm building. I've 
successfully pulse-modulated the beam of cheap <5mW red diodes, and now I'm 
trying to use the same interface with the Fusion. I've found, however, that 
unlike some lower-power green pointers I've played with, the output of this 
laser "ramps up" to its full intensity. It takes significantly longer to do 
this than the pulse width of each pixel (a few microseconds), and so I get no 
output when interfaced to the my projecting circuitry.

My questions are as follows:

1) Is the "ramping" effect due to some internal regulating circuitry of the 
pointer, or is it a characteristic of DPSS lasers?

2) Is there any way of pulse-modulating the beam by switching the power supply 
of the laser, as I have done with the <5mW red diodes? If not, what is the 
best way of externally modulating the beam? Are the LCD shutters that have a 
fast enough response time (i.e., <1 microsecond)? Etc?

3) Do pointers like this rely on the internal resistance of the alkaline 
batteries to limit current (as is the case with some LED flashlights)? I.e., 
is it safe to use an external 3v supply with the pointer without burning out 
the diode?

Thanks,

~Joe