445 diode extremely dirty; Cleaning suggestions?

The title says it all, I got a little spec of Arctic silver on the diode, tried cleaning it with no pressure with the tip of a wet q-tip, I really didn't want to scratch the glass on it, and now my output looks like this with no lens:

https://sites.google.com/site/officialhosting/2011-09-26002.JPG?attredirects=0

Any suggestions on how to clean it?

I really don't want to remove it from the module (unless i absolutely have to).

Thanks in advance!

Try soaking it in nail polish remover or buy some of this: Arctic Silver ArctiClean (60ml Kit) [AS-ACN-60ml] - $9.50 : PC Case Gear

If all else fails, you might have to de-can it

Acetone works pretty well for removing suborn grime from glass and a follow up with 99% alcohol will remove any remaining film, if this doesn't do it Lazerz may be right you may have to de-can it.

Way better now, but still a little blurry, the acetone definitely helped a lot! thanks guys!

https://sites.google.com/site/officialhosting/2011-09-26005.JPG?attredirects=0

by the way, i uploaded this video to youtube, i guessed based off of the amperage vs mw chart that my laser was approximately 1.2 watts. Then i saw the second video below burning his wallet without even focusing and it's burning waaaay better, and it made me wonder how much power mine actually is putting out. I have no access to a LPM, but my 200mw green seems to burn at about the same speed as my 445...

1.2W 445nm Laser Burning a Wallet With Lens Filter - YouTube

445nm 1.5w laser vs wallet - YouTube

Not so good comparison. The material of the wallet does account here. Some materiaal gives alot of smoke when heated. Also 1.2Watt vs 1.5Watt and what lens is he using ?

Blord said:

Not so good comparison. The material of the wallet does account here. Some material gives alot of smoke when heated. Also 1.2Watt vs 1.5Watt and what lens is he using ?

Click to expand...

I don't know what lens he's using all i know is that my driver is putting out 1.2 amps and by the chart for a140 diodes it says that is about 1100mw (not 1200 like i previously thought), just thought it was a little strange how much better his laser is burning. You have to admit though, it does seem to burn a lot better than mine (even though he has a 400mw advantage).
My wallet is black leather and his his brown, i think a black wallet would absorb more photons than a lighter colored wallet too...

I think i want to buy a new module with better heat sinking so i can ramp up the amperage (or the duty cycle, this thing gets warm really fast).
What's a good axize sized module that would get good Heat sinking? or perhaps a better lens, g-1 or g-2?

By the way this is my first build. I bought a Sipik host from qumefox and i have to say he stands by his work, would buy from him again in the future :beer:

Well, if you turned the laser on while that residue was on your diode can you may have sent reflections back into the diode (worst case scenario) There is also the possibility that your lens still has a small amount of residue and/or scratches on it.

If you can't fix it, I would reccomend you send it to a member to get it de-canned or try it yourself

A way of decanning it is placing the back of it in the head of a cordless drill and tightening it. Then whip out your stanley knife and slowly place it over the rear of the can while spinning the diode with your drill.

But, 1 problem remains... IIRC these diodes contain a gas in the can so by de-canning it you will reduce its life-span to a few months.

I think the diode is dying or there is something loose in the can, it's weird because i have never dropped it or anything...here's a video...watch.

Laser oddity. - YouTube

I'm not sure if it was ever dirty to begin with....

best course of action: new diode. lol, right?

do you think de-canning would fix this problem?

RENOxDECEPTION said:

do you think de-canning would fix this problem?

Click to expand...

Well, Decanning Fixed it.

From you last video that is was Clearly a Loose window.

But Glad you fixed it.

Try not to take the lens Out complete anymore. Since the diode is now DE-Caned you dont want any dust to get in there.