laser optical scroll mouse


LASER SCROLL WHEEL MOUSE

Laser scroll wheel mouse uses an infrared laser diode (A laser diode is a laser where the active medium is a semiconductor similar to that found in a light-emitting diode.) instead of an LED to illuminate the surface beneath their sensor. As early as 1998, Sun Microsystems provided a laser mouse with their Sun SPARCstation servers and workstations However, laser mice did not enter the mainstream market until 2004, when Logitech, in partnership with Agilent Technologies, introduced its MX 1000 laser mouse. This mouse uses a small infrared laser instead of an LED and has significantly increased the resolution of the image taken by the mouse. The laser enables around 20 times more surface tracking power to the surface features used for navigation compared to conventional optical mice, via interference effects.

laser optical scroll mouse

The color of the optical mouse's light-emitting diodes varies with each model. Red was (and still is today) the most common, as red diodes were the cheapest when optical mice first arrived on the market. Today, a wide array of colors exists, such as blue or green. Some models' diodes even change color, cycling through colors of the rainbow for instance. when possible. In order to do this, the mouse dims or blinks the laser or LED when in standby-mode (Each mouse has a different standby time). This function may also increase the laser / LED life. Mice designed specifically for gamers, such as the Logitech G5 or the Razer Copperhead, often lack this feature in an attempt to reduce latency and to improve responsiveness.



A typical implementation in Logitech mice has four power states, where the sensor is pulsed at different rates per second:
1. 100 - fallback active condition while not moving, illumination appears dull.
2. 1500 - full on condition for accurate response while moving, illumination appears bright.
3. 10 - Standby
4. 2 - Sleep state

Some other mice turn the sensor fully off in the sleep state, requiring a button click to wake. Optical models will outperform mechanical mice on uneven, slick, soft, sticky, or loose surfaces, and generally in mobile situations lacking mouse pad. Because optical mice render movement based on an image which the LED (or infared diode) illuminates, use with multi-colored mouse pads may result in unreliable performance; however, laser mice do not suffer these problems and will track on such surfaces. The advent of affordable high-speed, low-resolution cameras and the integrated logic in optical mice provides an ideal laboratory for experimentation on next-generation input-devices. Experimenters can obtain low-cost components simply by taking apart a working mouse and changing the optics or by writing new software. Laser optical Scroll mice utilizing infrared elements (LEDs or lasers) offer substantial increases in battery life. Some Logitech mice, such as the V450 848nm laser mouse, are capable of functioning on. Some models of laser mice can track on glossy and transparent surfaces, and have a much higher sensitivity than either their mechanical or optical counterparts but are more expensive than their LED based or mechanical counterparts




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