405nm diodes <$50?

Well, with the death of the HD DVD Player, Microsoft is now selling the Xbox 360 HD DVD player for $50. I've never extracted a diode, but I see this as a cheap way to get a 405nm diode, and within a year from now there might not be very many 405nm diodes out there, making this a prime opportunity to buy a diode that might become a part of laser history. A few years from now, when all your friends have their blue lasers, you pull out an old dusty box, pull out an old DIY laser, and with a press of a button all your friends are mystified by the violet beam. This is all just a speculation though.

uhh...dude. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray use the SAME diodes, both are 405nm. A year from now we will probably see $5 pointers in the local mall due to how many will be produced.

Geez, Sony sure fooled a lot of consumers into thinking the laser is blue, due to the name. I cant even list how many times I've had to correct people.

Whoops, I thought Blu-Ray diodes had a 473nm wavelength, my bad.

Does anyone know the part number of the specific diode in these HD DVD players? Or at least know what the manufacturer of this diode is? I'm trying to find a data sheet.

iewed said:

Whoops, I thought Blu-Ray diodes had a 473nm wavelength, my bad.

Click to expand...

That would have been nice, then we could be getting cheap blue and violet lasers

Actual 473nm blue lasers will probably remain rare years from now unless they develop a 473 laser diode. DPSS lasers simply cost a lot to make.

I think they're on their way... thecheat (A friend of mine, used to be on LC) did some digging, and it turns out Nichea is making 488nm and 473nm diodes... You can get samples at $2000 each. (That'd be a helluva GB! ;D)