IR diode help

i just recently took out a diode from a IR cd player as i am working on a project but i cannot figure out what the leads are they are all on the same level when i took the diode out it was incased in a small gold tube wich has lens at the top i have not seen i IR diode before so i ask do i rip off the tubing or not?

the back looks like thi ____
| --- |
|___|

dashes = leads
tube encasing has a square len on other side

You might have just gotten one of those funky shaped diodes, there is a way to find which pins are which with a multimeter, but you'll have to wait for a member to reply that knows how to do it properly, sadly I cannot remember how to test leads. BTW, you will probably only get 3mW max of Near IR light from that diode if you can find a way to power it up.