Put together a circuit?

• Jun 1, 2011

• #1

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m2n4guFU

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Hello All,
I have recently purchased a 250mW (~2.2v @ 190mA according to the shop page) 405nm diode and it arrived today. It has three pins on the back and being sort of a newbie at electronics, I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to connect them? My multimeter has displayed infinite resistance whenever I try to calculate the resistance of the diode, which leads me to believe it may be broken?
Thank you in advance, for your help.

 

• Jun 1, 2011

• #2

Eudaimonium

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Well first of all, Bluray diodes do not have a forward voltage of 2.2 Volts, that's 808nm IR diodes, which you most likely have.

Anyhow, you need to construct a constant current regulator which will supply 190mA to the diode.

You can find it yourself, search for "DDL driver" and "IR diode pinout". Here's a good thread:
http://laserpointerforums.com/f42/meta-topic-pinout-performance-actual-ld-26417.html

 

• Jun 1, 2011

• #3

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m2n4guFU

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Okay, I will check out that thread, but are you sure about 808nm? I trust you, because when I hooked it to 3V nothing came out (3 AAAs) but I might not have had the pins correct. Since there are three pins and a measured resistance of -1 (infinity) I have no clue what I'm doing. Possibly to add information, I got it from this listing: New 250mW+ 405nm 6X High Power Blue-Violet Laser Diode - eBay (item 270750778133 end time May-31-11 19:19:53 PDT)

Thank you for your help so far.

 

• Jun 1, 2011

• #4

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m2n4guFU

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Oh dear, rather "operation current: ~5.1V @ 190 mA" which leads me to believe 2.2v is the threshold voltage, as the listing actually says. I apologize for being an idiot

Also, I have a 5-Volt voltage regulator that has 3 pins (AS WELL), and since my only electronics background is general college physics, I'm a bit lost
Thanks for "holding my hand" though.

 

• Jun 2, 2011

• #5

Eudaimonium

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Hey no worries.

It is never a good idea to connect your laser diode directly to batteries. If it were an infrared 808nm diode, you would have burned it out.

It doesn't matter what your circuit has pins, you need only two, which is positive and negative (+ and -).

Look up the pinout diagram and figure out how to connect your driver, which you must build.

 

• Jun 3, 2011

• #6

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m2n4guFU

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Hello again,
Strictly as an inquisitive question, it probably doesn't matter at all, but what does DDL in DDL Driver stand for? And I'm a bit lost still on how to build one.

Also, my diode did not come with a pinout diagram, is it safe to assume the same as the violet one in the "Meta Topic" you posted? The diode simply came in plastic wrap, anti-static, and packaging material.

Ongoing thanks.

 

• Jun 3, 2011

• #7

Eudaimonium

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DDL is actually short for "Daedal", which is the nickname of a person who first suggested a usage of LM317 voltage regulator chip as a current regulator driver for laser diodes long time ago.

And yes, if your diode is 405nm, that means it's violet (A.K.A. Bluray diode) and pinout for ALL bluray diodes is the same, as well for Blue 445nm diodes.