Harvesting the Lite On 12X

DTR said:

I finally got around to taking it apart today and testing the current. Put it on my pyroload and tested it at 453mA. Put it back together and it still works great. This is my only good 405 at the moment and whenever I take something that works apart I am always worried about the small chance I will screw it up.

This unit has a little over 3 hours use on it now. I have become a little more lax on counting running time but I am sure this is a conservative estimate.

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Anymore details on it? I have two of those vertical pin diodes sitting here in front of me.

He was talking about his 12x 405 build Boosted. not the plastic 660's. This thread is about gathering more info on these lite-on 12x BR diodes, to see if they're really comparable to the other 12x's since these are a lot cheaper to acquire.

Other than the one guy who epoxied one of those reds into a aixiz module, your pretty much on your own with those 660's.

The sled is not the twofer that I hoped it would be. But the 12X is running great for over 3 hours now.

Alright guys. It took me some time to get all the right stuff for the testing of this diode. But at last here is the bench power supply test data.

This is the setup. I have a power supply with variable V/mA and a digital display. A Laserbee II LPM. And a MAXSINK desktop sized heatsink.





The testing is done with the diode being driven directly by the power supply no driver. A 405-G-1 lens is used. And of course the 12X 405nm diode from a Lite On sled purchased from Rayfoss for $69 shipped.

I was planning on stopping at 600mA but I decided to roll the dice and try to hit 900mW.:eg:
I will try to make a graph out of this data tomorrow.

EDIT
Thanks for entering my data into the graph 3zuli.


mA@V=mW
60@4.1=50
80@4.3=76
100@4.5=109
120@4.7=136
140@4.9=163
160@5.0=190
180@5.2=215
200@5.3=250
220@5.4=276
240@5.5=311
260@5.6=349
280@5.6=372
300@5.7=409
320@5.7=425
340@5.8=462
360@5.9=491
380@5.9=514
400@5.9=544
420@6.0=573
440@6.0=600
460@6.0=638
480@6.1=662
500@6.1=687
520@6.1=720
540@6.1=736
560@6.1=761
580@6.2=785
600@6.2=806
620@6.3=831
640@6.3=842
660@6.3=863
680@6.4=877
700@6.4=894
720@6.4=908

And there you have it. Hopes this helps.

I made the graph...

I notice output starts to fall off a little after you got over 800mW. Would it be possible for you to retest some of the lower powers again? Say.. 100, 200, 300 and 400mA and see if the optical power outputs you get this time are any lower.. If they are it's a good indication facet damage has started.

3zuli said:

I made the graph...

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Thanks. Was so tired last night I did not get to it but wanted to get the info up.:tired: +1
Hope you don't mind if I use it.

qumefox said:

I notice output starts to fall off a little after you got over 800mW. Would it be possible for you to retest some of the lower powers again? Say.. 100, 200, 300 and 400mA and see if the optical power outputs you get this time are any lower.. If they are it's a good indication facet damage has started.

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Well I have put it back in its home. But not before turning it up to 580mA.:eg: Puts out 777mW.

DTR: I think it's interest of all Members to see the comparison of your 12x Lite-On with the other 12x diodes bench tested, so I have added your graph in the 12x Diodes Bench Tested section of my datasheet (hoping you agree )...

Edit: Sorry Dave for the intrusion in your thread :yabbem:, BTW I'm waiting for your data too.....

Hmm. Your first chart says you hit 785mW @ 580mA the first time, and you say it only did 777mW @ 580mA the second time? Seems like there was some degrading then.

Seems to me, just from this limited sample size anyway (1, lol) that 600mA would be the magic number not to exceed if you want a long diode life.

qumefox said:

Hmm. Your first chart says you hit 785mW @ 580mA the first time, and you say it only did 777mW @ 580mA the second time? Seems like there was some degrading then.

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Not necessarily, it could be something like he didn't let the diode cool down as much between tests on the first run compared to the second run.

Kevlar said:

Not necessarily, it could be something like he didn't let the diode cool down as much between tests on the first run compared to the second run.

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Maybe. But the curve was definitely falling off over 600mA in the graph.

But to be honest... in that heatsink.. unless he was running it for a long time. Heat shouldn't have been much of an issue.

Yeah, I agree. I was just thinking there could be a lot of variables which caused the different reading (i.e. maybe a slight breeze in the room on the second reading), and yes, degradation could be one of them.

It would be nice to get some other diodes tested to compare, but this is a start.

Thanks DTR for the valuable info. :thanks:

I do agree more data is needed. Which is why I commented on the small sample size. heh.

I actually found a source for these sleds a good bit cheaper than rayfoss, or rather, my chinese speaking gf did. heh. But in the quantity i'd need to order to make it worthwhile on the shipping end.. I just don't have the cash to go that route just yet... but I plan to in the near future.

qumefox said:

Hmm. Your first chart says you hit 785mW @ 580mA the first time, and you say it only did 777mW @ 580mA the second time? Seems like there was some degrading then.

Seems to me, just from this limited sample size anyway (1, lol) that 600mA would be the magic number not to exceed if you want a long diode life.

Click to expand...

Not sure about the difference but the one in the graph was taken with the diode being directly driven by the bench supply and the second taken with a microboost set to 580mA tested by my pyroload. Could it be that the small variance is a result of using different drivers.

Kevlar said:

Not necessarily, it could be something like he didn't let the diode cool down as much between tests on the first run compared to the second run.

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I gave 1 minute between readings. I don't think heat was much of an issue. It also seemed to me that when you turned it on the power would go to a point level off and a couple seconds later it would go up another small amount then after about 5 seconds it starts going down slowly again.

qumefox said:

I do agree more data is needed. Which is why I commented on the small sample size. heh.

I actually found a source for these sleds a good bit cheaper than rayfoss, or rather, my chinese speaking gf did. heh. But in the quantity i'd need to order to make it worthwhile on the shipping end.. I just don't have the cash to go that route just yet... but I plan to in the near future.

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Mr Fox:

Group Buy Potential?

qumefox said:

I do agree more data is needed. Which is why I commented on the small sample size. heh.

I actually found a source for these sleds a good bit cheaper than rayfoss, or rather, my chinese speaking gf did. heh. But in the quantity i'd need to order to make it worthwhile on the shipping end.. I just don't have the cash to go that route just yet... but I plan to in the near future.

Click to expand...

Coherent Light said:

Mr Fox:

Group Buy Potential?

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I agree!! I would love to add a 12X to my collection