Weird rectangular IR diode - build?

Hello,
I have found this weird 8mmx5mm rectangular IR diode, in a no-name 48x CD burner. I thought that maybe, just maybe it might have enough power to burn something. I powered it up with no heat sink and a lm317 and 5ohm resistor and it burns tape at close range, nor does it get very hot at all, so I thought maybe it might be a higher power IR compared to the 5.6mm ones,
being a lot bigger. Anyone have any experience with this diode?
I did cut a heatsink for it and I did cut an old aixiz module in order to focus it.
All will be installed inside a plastic childern vitamin container, together with a driver.

Here are some pictures.

Is that a crystal/lens on the front of the diode?
Just wondering....

Yes, it has what seems to be some kind of correction cube in front of it.
You can easily see that in the middle of the cube there is a specially worked round area, divided in 4 quadrants... very strange indeed.

Here are a couple more pics

well...... i don't have any experience with a diode like this.... (ah.. the mind boggling problems of DIY lasers)

try PMing someone like Mohenburg. he has tons of experience.

That is a combined unit ..... it incorporate both the LD, the quadrature reading sensor and the preamp for it, and the crystal glued at the top is a holographic element ..... i mean, the crystal act as a prism, a diffractor and a correction lens, and these elements are "printed" on the faces as holograms (and yes, they work like real elements).

The LD is probably low power, maybe 40 or 50 mW, and the emitting chip is off-center respect to the center of the case (the beam become centered from the holographic element).

cool info,
it does seem to have a weird output, like 2 small dots closely spaced when focused for burning. I did give it 250ma and it takes it fine, the bad part is that it gives less power then a regular 5,6mm IR diode at the same 250ma with same driver etc.
So I am going to scrap it. I was unable to smoke balsa with it at 250ma, while another ir 5.6mm at 250ma is burning it without problems. I don't think that raising the current will do much for me.. Oh well... will put a LOC in it instead.

LuxIgnis said:

it does seem to have a weird output, like 2 small dots closely spaced when focused for burning.

Click to expand...

It's the holographic element, that divide the beam.

If you look at the crystal under certain light angles, you can see the different functions of the elements as reflections in the crystal, like if it had faces and planes ..... one of them is a beam divider, too .....

Similar to this one, also if this is on a round can ..... basically, works in the same way