Magenta Laser

I started out making a Blu-ray laser with the PS3 KES-400AAA which was cool until I made a more powerful one from the Xbox PHR 803T. So I wanted to experiment with the less powerful PS3 blu-ray laser.

I was able to run both the RLD and the VLD in the PS3 diode off one driver. Using a Rkcstr low range adjustable driver hook both the + leads from the diodes to the driver. I found that the RLD should have 47 ohm resistor in series with it to limit its current consumption and drop the voltage a bit. 47 ohms offers a good balance between violet and red laser light to produce a Magenta or Pinkish color! Since two diodes are connected to the same driver together they require about 130mA. I'm using 6v to power the driver.

Since red and violet have different focal lengths it only produces a pink spot when focused at close range. However, the use of glass culminating optics helps dramatically. It should also be noted that the diode is not meant to run full power with both diodes running simultaneously. I have not run it for longer than 30 seconds without the use of a heat sink but it seems to stay cool.

It is pretty interesting to play around with some interesting things happen due to the different focal lengths. One particular interesting occurrence happens when the beam is partly obstructed (see pic). So if you have a KES-400AAA diode try employing both diodes to create a very unique laser.
(The pictures are kinda bad. My camera doesn't like lasers.)

-Tony

Nice. I really want to make a pink laser for the wife.... I just need to figure out how to work electronics now lol

Really nice! Did you use a beam combiner?

Others have had bad luck driving both the red and violet lasers from the PS3 diode at once... since the dies are stacked, heat quickly becomes a problem.

I'm also kinda amazed that you're running them both off the same driver... let alone at that current... they require vastly different voltages, and I was under the impression neither of them could handle more than about 50mA without burning up.

pseudolobster said:

Others have had bad luck driving both the red and violet lasers from the PS3 diode at once... since the dies are stacked, heat quickly becomes a problem.

I'm also kinda amazed that you're running them both off the same driver... let alone at that current... they require vastly different voltages, and I was under the impression neither of them could handle more than about 50mA without burning up.

Click to expand...

The RLD uses about 60mA and the VLD uses about 45mA. The resistor limits the amount of current the RLD would draw from a 4.5v supply. That's how the two diodes can be run off the same driver yet require different voltage inputs. I know heat can be a problem, that's why I limit the duty cycle to 30 seconds tops without better heat sinking.

Hey, is this thing still working fine? Is a 30 second limit cycle really needed or have u ran it longer and it didn't get to hot? Also, how did you wire them - in series or parallel? Lastly, how can I use a DDL driver to power this?

IMO if you build one you will be disappointed. The beams will have different indexes of refraction and you will not be able to properly focus the laser.

I know it won't be GREAT, its just something to try since I already have a blu-ray, a red, a green, and now a 635nm (orangish red), so I'd love to have to a new looking color for cheap. About how far can it go and will still focus OK so you see pink/magenta?

Waittt.... I thought that resistors reduced current (ampage), not voltage...

Or have I been living in shadow for awhile ;D.

Depends on the circuit they are in, they can do both.

Well, i just tried to build it, and it didn't work. I tried using a DDL driver set at 125mA. I put a 47ohm in series w/ the red. When i power it up from a 9V, only the red VERY faintly lights (as if broken). Accidently afterwards I realized, if I just SKIP the DDL driver, and hookup the diodes directly to the 9V (in parallel, 10ohm in series w/ violet and 57ohm in series w/ red + a cap in parallel w/ both.... it ended up lighting both great. I do not plan on using tht as a solution, BUT I'm wondering what i could've done wrong w/ the driver (why is it not working)?

I just noticed, when you say "require", do u mean, at minimum? As in, my DDL set up at 125mA isn't enough?

Pushing 125mA current through a 47Ohm resistor would result in a nearly 6V drop over said resistor. Add to that the voltage requirements for the diode and the driver, and you find that you need at least ~11V to make this work.

If you have a constant current source (DDL, FlexDrive, MicroDrive), then DON'T use a series resistor - it's completely pointless.

dr-ebert said:

Pushing 125mA current through a 47Ohm resistor would result in a nearly 6V drop over said resistor. Add to that the voltage requirements for the diode and the driver, and you find that you need at least ~11V to make this work.

If you have a constant current source (DDL, FlexDrive, MicroDrive), then DON'T use a series resistor - it's completely pointless.

Click to expand...

You're confusing me a lil. The whole point of this is to hook up both the red and the violet up to one driver. If I want to use a DDL, what mA should I set it to? The LM317 uses 1.25V as a reference voltage. I tried setting it to 179mA (Should be more than enough - pheonix used 130mA), and it still didn't power both the red and the violet, it only powered the red a little bit. I am using 9V to power the circuit (should be more than enough - pheonix used 6V). So, my question is, why wouldn't this work? What am I doing different than pheonix?

I see - you're running the two integrated diodes in parallel, with the resistor in series with the red one since it has a lower V[sub]f[/sub] than the violet one. Actually doing it like this defeats the purpose of using a driver at all, since the distribution of current through each diode can vary considerably depending on diode characteristics and operating conditions - the driver only regulates the SUM of the two currents, and they distribute such that V[sub]f,red[/sub] + I[sub]red[/sub]*R = V[sub]f,violet[/sub]. I'd recommend giving each diode its own driver, the LM317 variety is cheap.

Some more thoughts: with this setup, changing the driver current would very nearly only affect the violet diode. I.e. you may have killed the violet one already, by giving it too much current. Try them individually (with a current setting around 50mA or whatever they take).

dr-ebert said:

I see - you're running the two integrated diodes in parallel, with the resistor in series with the red one since it has a lower V[sub]f[/sub] than the violet one. Actually doing it like this defeats the purpose of using a driver at all, since the distribution of current through each diode can vary considerably depending on diode characteristics and operating conditions - the driver only regulates the SUM of the two currents, and they distribute such that V[sub]f,red[/sub] + I[sub]red[/sub]*R = V[sub]f,violet[/sub]. I'd recommend giving each diode its own driver, the LM317 variety is cheap.

Some more thoughts: with this setup, changing the driver current would very nearly only affect the violet diode. I.e. you may have killed the violet one already, by giving it too much current. Try them individually (with a current setting around 50mA or whatever they take).

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. It's nice to see some people able to explain electronics well I know basics from electronics in school, but we don't really build much. BTW, lol.. yeah, I actually did kill that violet one later. I'm now planning on driving both separately, but I need to find a big enough host to use. I've been thinking about an altoids tin, and I'll probably go with that considering this is just a cheap, experimental build. The only thing is, I need some switches lol. I'd like to have a slide switch + a pushbutton. Then, I'd be able to driver either red, violet, or both (with a 3 position, small slide switch) and then would turn it on with the push button. I gotta find some cheap sh*t electronic item to salvage the switches from. Maybe from some dollar store FM radios