First build - blue laser pointer , fail

Hello

I've always owned lasers as a kid, but never imagined I would want to build one.. i was stumbling accross youtube one day and saw a video on how to create your own 1000 mw laser.. so it seemed legit enough.. I purchased the parts in the description and went at it..

I saw this link on youtube.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyfrNsoxaQ4 and sucked me into wanting to build one so I did..

The parts i purchased are as following:

445nm M140 Diode In Copper Module With Leads
& Three Element Glass Lens with a
18V 5W Cree Circuit Board for Flashlights motherboard.. i might have screwed something up, i'm thinking maybe the diode?

c6 cree housing

what's basically happening is that when i first out everything together i might have shorted out the motherboard/diode wires to the actual flash light housing, i didn't use electric tape and just temporarily was testing it out.. it sparked and stopped working for a minute then it started working again..

anyway i thought it was the motherboard so I went ahead and replaced the motherboard and used the same diode.. now it's consistently bright but i don't think it's as bright as it should be??? it's definitely not strong enough to pop a balloon or make paper catch on fire.. do you have any idea what I should do? or anything you recommend? thanks a bunch

I think it might be the diode.. before once it used to be very bright then dim down, i would stick it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes then it would be bright consistently then eventually get dim.. but still not as bright as it should be.. at least not like how it's like in that guys video.. any help would be appreciated guys.

You should never operate a laser diode and allow it to short circuit... I've killed some red lasers like this. Don't know if the M140s would die, but it is for sure, dangerous.
Anyways sticking your laser into the freezer is a bad attitude too...

"18V 5W Cree Circuit Board"? Where you got that? If its 18V boost (18v output) maybe you fried the diode... or you isn't sourcing enough voltage to the board.
Use a proper laser driver.

A blue laser is a wrong build to start IMO...

Leodahsan said:

You should never operate a laser diode and allow it to short circuit... I've killed some red lasers like this. Don't know if the M140s would die, but it is for sure, dangerous.
Anyways sticking your laser into the freezer is a bad attitude too...

"18V 5W Cree Circuit Board"? Where you got that? If its 18V boost (18v output) maybe you fried the diode... or you isn't sourcing enough voltage to the board.
Use a proper laser driver.

A blue laser is a wrong build to start IMO...

Click to expand...

well, i'm learning.. i wont make that mistake again. also i don't see why it's a bad attitude to stick it in the freezer.. maybe i am doing something dangerous, or wrong that I am not aware of, but I know it worked much better when I did put it in there.. so I was hoping that would actually mean something to somebody with experience...

I got the diode from here: 18V 5W Cree Circuit Board for Flashlights (16.8mm*5.5mm) - Free Shipping - DealExtreme

I just purchased the parts from the guys you tube link description.. he made it seem pretty easy, and according to him those are the parts he used and it worked fine.

OOh right. The diode came from a legit, good seller. The driver, it should work, but when it comes to chinese products... oh well. You never know.

When you put something on the freezer, it creates condensation. And laser diodes don't like water too much...

For tests, you can build a test-load and test your driver. If its ok, you burn't the laser diode.
I recommend some reading on how laser diodes works, constant current, etc...
Are you familiar with electronics diy by the way?

I have little to no experience when dealing with electronics in general.. i do not know how to build a test-load and would not know how to test the driver.
I am not familiar with electronics DIY.

So shorting out the diode probably did the damage? i mean it still works just not as strong.. could a laser diode partially work?

I think it will be a little easier if I just purchased a new diode and tried one more time, this time i will use electrical tape and not short out the module or diode.. it should work?

Yes. This is what we hobbists call, a "led'd laser diode", or "expensive LED", or Catastrophical Optical Damage. Its when the diode itself works, but it cannot maintain stimulated emission, the "laser like emission". All of that can happen in a fraction of a millisecond.

BUT you can see stimulated emission when you don't supply enough power to the laser diode. When its below a minimum current value (I th, Threshold Current) it won't "lase", it will behave as an led. So its hard to tell if you damaged your diode, or if your driver isn't supplying enough current.

edit: High soldering temperature can damage the diode. Disconnecting and reconnecting the laser from the driver during operation can damage it too...
You're more likely to not frustrate yourself by learning step by step, maybe with $10 diodes, and with homemade drivers...

crap.. do you recommend any diodes that aren't "made in china" and are probably better quality? it just bothers me that this guy did it in the video just fine and made it look perfectly easy with the parts I have. and in a dark room you can see the laser beam, but it certainly isn't 1W... could that possibly rule out the diode from not working?

You can actually focus it to a "dot", "bar" or something small, far away?

He didn't use the 18V 5W Cree Circuit Board, he used a Mohgasm driver, both should work

have you tried charging the batts ?? which ones are you sing ??

Yes it can focus quite well actually.. maybe i can get a video going for you guys.

Do you know where I can purchase the Mohgasm driver? also i purchased 3 different kinds of batteries.. 2 sets locally and then ordered some on ebay:

12 New Energizer CR123A Lithium 3V Battery for EL123 SF123 DL123 Fresh 03 2022 | eBay

i'm using the CR123As


thanks

Cancel your order if you can. You need 16340 lithiums. CR123A's will work but don't hold a lot of current. Click on the link in my sig for places to buy parts

do you think that should solve my issue?

thanks

Also Innovative lasers offers this battery : IMR 18350 Rechargeable Lithium Battery, he says it's better than the 16340.. would you recommend that?

thanks

http://youtu.be/UUaBUAuTMYY

http://youtu.be/RMdwjMH7IsE

here are some videos

i'm not familiar with them batts, i think they are slightly longer that's all i know