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12x Murder Experiment - Take 2 (With 12x Comparison Plots)

IgorT

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Thanks to everyone on this forum, there is a second 12x ready for the Torture Chamber. :bowdown:

I will use this thread to post the results of the testing (degradation plots).
I will also use this opportunity to show a comparison of all the 12x diodes i tested so far (one of them a Plextor drive).



First, here is the diode that will be tortured:

attachment.php


I plotted it up to 440mA, where it produced 564mW. It is of a lower efficiency than the first 12x Murder Candidate, but observing the degradation of three 8x's of different efficiencies convinced me this shouldn't matter much - the determining factor for it's lifetime should be it's power setting, not the current required.



Compared to other 12x diodes, it looks like this:

attachment.php



12x #1 (white) is the first murder candidate, 12x #2 (dark blue) is a diode from a Plextor drive.


As you can see, four of the five 12x's start at practically the same Ith (27mA - noticably lower than with 8x's), and form an evenly spread out group in terms of slope efficiency.

The Murder Candidate is slightly different and starts at an Ith of 34mA, with a lower slope efficiency, and stands a little appart from the group, just like the first 8x Murder Candidate did (still alive at over 450h).


Even tho the 12x diode from the Plextor drive has the highest efficiency of the group, the group looks no different than any other group of identical diodes would. I don't see any reason to believe the Plextor diode would be any different from the Pioneer 12x's.



One thing i noticed was, that the second murder candidate 12x has a much lower forward voltage than other tested diodes in the group, so in terms of absolute efficiency it is not as much of an outsider and comes closer to the rest of the group.

This can be seen here, in the Po/Pe plot, where the optical output power is plotted against the electrical power going into the diode (= current multiplied by voltage):

attachment.php



One interesting thing in this plot is, that once the forward voltages are taken into account, three of the diodes huddle together almost into one tightly packed fat line.

The Plextor diode is still on the top, but due to it's higher forward voltage, two of the Pioneer diodes almost completelly overlap it, even tho they need a higher current to reach the same power - their absolute efficiency is practically the same.


Yet another reason i don't believe that the Plextor diodes are any different from the ones found in the Pioneer drive.
Their Ith is identical, the slope efficiencies show no unusual differences (LG 8x's formed the same picture only at a lower average efficiency), and in absolute efficiency, two of the tested Pioneer diodes are nearly identical as the Plextor.



In any case, that's enough of comparing (until i test more diodes).


I rebuilt the Torture Chamber for the second 12x Murder Experiment, in a way that will allow me to keep an eye on the diode's power (to make sure it's not dropping too fast) during cycling, without having to interrupt it for a re-plot.


I turned one of the sensors into a simple optical power meter, by including a tiny solar panel in the back (thanks, HIMNL, for the idea):

attachment.php



Measuring the current the solar panel produces will warn me of any unusual behavior. It's not an accurate power meter, but good enough to warn me if a re-plot is required.




Everything is prepared, but before i begin, i would like to make sure everyone (or rather the majority) can agree on what current / power to test.


In the "Current for 12x Murder Experiment" thread, i read a couple of suggestions for 430mA (=550mW+), while the poll results indicate a desire to test 440mA (= 564mW in this case), but were mostly meant for the previous diode i believe.


Once i get more confirmations (or different suggestions?) i can start the testing.

When i thought i would pay for the diode myself, i said i would decide on the setting myself as well, but after so many members donated again, i would prefer if we shared the responsibility for the decision, and make sure everyone is happy with it.
 

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  • 12x #5 (Pioneer) PIV Plot.PNG
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  • 12x PI Comparison Plot.PNG
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  • 12x Po-Pe Comparison Plot.PNG
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  • Upgraded Sensor w. Sol. Panel.JPG
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Since I am of no involvement on this I am not sure I should post here,
But just out of curiosity...
Is that a 12x diode there, silver, soldered on to wires...?

I mean, I never saw a 8x or 12 x bare diode picture... anywhere?
Do they still have the same look as PRH (short closed can) ?

Sorry again if I should GTFO :D but I cannot help myself!
 

daguin

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Since I am of no involvement on this I am not sure I should post here,
But just out of curiosity...
Is that a 12x diode there, silver, soldered on to wires...?

I mean, I never saw a 8x or 12 x bare diode picture... anywhere?
Do they still have the same look as PRH (short closed can) ?

Sorry again if I should GTFO :D but I cannot help myself!

They "look" the same (except for a different "square code" on the back)

Peace,
dave
 
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Any noticeable difference between an 8x and a 12x? Im interested in getting a 12x laser.

Sent you an email Daguin.
 

daguin

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Any noticeable difference between an 8x and a 12x? Im interested in getting a 12x laser.

Sent you an email Daguin.

At the level of "What do they look like?", there is no visible difference in the structure of the diode can or pins. If all you have is the diode in front of you, with no other indicators but visual, they are identical. With the Pioneer 8X and 12X, even the heat sinks are the same.

Buy your own drive to harvest the diode from or buy your diode from a VERY trustworthy source.

Peace,
dave

**EDIT**
-- I'll be checking email in a bit.
 
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In the "Current for 12x Murder Experiment" thread, i read a couple of suggestions for 430mA (=550mW+), while the poll results indicate a desire to test 440mA (= 564mW in this case), but were mostly meant for the previous diode i believe.

Once i get more confirmations (or different suggestions?) i can start the testing.

Igor;

I totally agree on using power output for life testing.

Peak Power levels are the only manufacturer data we are fairly certain of.

Both Nichia & Sharp 12X press releases state 320 mw peak power:

150% of rated 12X peak power = 480 mw
160% of rated 12X peak power = 512 mw
170% of rated 12X peak power = 544 mw (~ the power level of 2nd 8X tested)

The 550mw power level is a higher % than the 2nd 8X which lasted slightly over 190 hours.

I think a higher power level would shorten that "190 hour life" significantly.

That would give us less data for your life prediction curve.

I would suggest that we try the lower 550mw power level.

Regardless of your choice, we need to start comparing our
operating power levels to peak power ratings.

LarryDFW
 
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IgorT

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Since I am of no involvement on this I am not sure I should post here,
But just out of curiosity...
Is that a 12x diode there, silver, soldered on to wires...?

I mean, I never saw a 8x or 12 x bare diode picture... anywhere?
Do they still have the same look as PRH (short closed can) ?

No, that's just the photo-transistor that detects the beam and triggers the counter in the Torture Chamber.
It's an original part of the sensor i had to move out of the way slightly to expose the solar cell better to the light.

The picture was meant to show how the sensor was upgraded.


These are the main components of the Torture Chamber by themselves. You can see the photo-transistor better here:

attachment.php




Besides, i'd never just solder wires to a diode (never mind a 12x) without having it installed in a heatsink first (paranoia - technically it's allowed under specific conditions).


The 12x diode itself does look the same as a PHR, altho with slightly different markings. The square barcode on the back for example, is smaller.
 

Attachments

  • Cycler & Counter.JPG
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Oh, that is a phototransistor, not a laser diode
:banghead:

Thanks for info guys!
 

IgorT

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Igor;

I totally agree on using power output for life testing.
Peak Power levels are the only manufacturer data we are fairly certain of.

Both Nichia & Sharp 12X press releases state 320 mw peak power:

I only saw the 320mW Pulsed rating on Sharp's page before, and i didn't think much of it, because sometimes (but not often) the max Pulse power is rated at slightly more than double the CW.

But if now both Nichia and Sharp classify 12x's as 320mW Pulsed, i really think we should re-classify the 12x diode as 160mW CW, instead of 150mW CW.



150% of rated 12X peak power = 480 mw
160% of rated 12X peak power = 512 mw
170% of rated 12X peak power = 544 mw (~ the power level of 2nd 8X tested)

The 550mw power level is a higher % than the 2nd 8X which lasted slightly over 190 hours.

I don't understand the 170%. The second 8x was tested at 453.5mW initial power.

The 8x's are 125mW CW / 250mW Pulsed as far as i know...

453.5mW / 250mW = 1.814 or 181.4% of it's rated Pulsed power if we go by that...
1.814 x 300mW = 544.2mW (if 12x's were 150/300mW)
1.814 x 320mW = 580.5mW (if 12x's are 160/320mW)


550mW wouldn't be higher than the second 8x test if they are 320mW Pulsed. Strangelly i got the same result as you when i used 150mW CW for 12x's. :thinking:

If i wasn't slightly worried about the amount of current required afterall, i'd be willing to go even further, but instead i'd rather test mid-way, so to speak - the majority of 12x's would produce over 600mW at this current, some as much as 660mW...


Besides, it would be better to get too many hours, rather than too little.



I think a higher power level would shorten that "190 hour life" significantly.
That would give us less data for your life prediction curve.

Unfortunatelly the number of hours a diode survives does not influence the amount of data available for a life prediction curve (unless it survives none).

The only thing that does influence the amount of data for a life prediction graph is the number of diodes murdered, as each diode with it's total number of hours and initial power setting only creates one data point...
 
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IgorT

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So i guess, since there are no complaints or different suggestions, we are good to go?


How does 440mA / 564mW sound?




My main concern here is making sure that 12x's are in fact tougher diodes than 8x's (and how much)...

An 8x might last approx 50h at this power level, but if 12x's have the same (incredible) toughness at higher power levels, the 12x could survive the same power up to four times as long.

But this is just a calculation at this moment. An actual test could allow extrapolating a similar lifetime curve from the 8x data.
 
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Igor;

I think that 564mw is a good choice of power level.

That is ~176% of the peak 320mw power rating from Nichia and Sharp.

Thanks again for the time you are putting into this testing.

LarryDFW

P.S. As to the toughness of 12X diodes,
the six people operating @ 700mw levels give some indication.
 
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jayrob

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So i guess, since there are no complaints or different suggestions, we are good to go?


How does 440mA / 564mW sound?




My main concern here is making sure that 12x's are in fact tougher diodes than 8x's (and how much)...

An 8x might last approx 50h at this power level, but if 12x's have the same (incredible) toughness at higher power levels, the 12x could survive the same power up to four times as long.

But this is just a calculation at this moment. An actual test could allow extrapolating a similar lifetime curve from the 8x data.

Seems like a huge difference in power for low efficiency vs high efficiency...

When I donated for this second 12X diode, I thought we were going to keep it at a lower current for a longer test. But I don't want to be the only one to say 'set it lower'. So go ahead and set it at what ever you think is good for your testing.

Just hate to see it die too soon...
 




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