20mW output power from 4 laser diode @5mW

Dear all, this is my first post. Now i want to build 20mW 660nm laser pointer. But the only laser module available in my country is 5mW. If i order laser module from internet it'll need 3 to 4 weeks, it's to long. My Question is, can i have 20mW optical power output if i combine 4 laser module @5mW in one cluster?

Thank you for your reply :yh:

combining 4 laser diodes is verry difficult and you need a LOT of skills to make that come true, even me i only can dream about it.

if you take a good look @ this http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/8-diode-445-build-64296.html
you will see what i/ we are talking about.

But if you buy a dvd burner diode you can have a lot more power from 1 diode ( 50 to 250 mw, even more )

What country do you live in?

As far as I know, no countries prohibit importation of diodes or modules.
It is a complete and functional portable laser that requires certification (depending on the country).

RA_pierce said:

As far as I know, no countries prohibit importation of diodes or modules.
It is a complete and functional portable laser that requires certification (depending on the country).

Click to expand...

I could be wrong, but I think that what OP was saying is that his options are:
- Buy 5mW laser in country, have quickly
- Buy better lasers on internet, but wait long time

...I have no idea why I just wrote those options as if I wasn't a native english speaker.. ?!? Something is up with me today.

Anyway, back on point - the reality is that the parts you'll need in order to properly combine 4 lasers into one beam are equally unlikely to be the kinds of things you can just find easily nearby. You would be looking for things like PBS cubes or FS mirrors, and you'll need some optics in all likelihood too. Unless you happen to have these things, I think the project will take just as long in the "assembling materials" phase as it would take you to just wait out a 3 week shipping timeframe on a good diode.

That said, even if you do accomplish combining 4x5mW, and even if you did it in a way that really gave you 20mW (no efficiency loss), I'm really not sure you'd notice. A red laser at 75mW is barely more impressive than the same at 5. It's brighter, but it's not like you suddenly start to see a solid beam.

Having said that too, I also understand the urge to "build" right away. Sometimes I get that impulse, and the thought of waiting, even if it's prudent, just kills you. So in a pinch, you could grab a laser pointer, grab a DVD-burner, and hope your butt off that the laser pointer's diode is in some sort of housing that lets you swap it out, and replace it with the DVD-burner's. At least you'll get some real power

Though honestly, you could probably even get 20mW from a DVD reader's LD.

@RA_pierce :
I'm from Indonesia. It's not the prohibition, but the shipping time. I need to complete it ASAP

@weeba2kv & rhd :
I thought it will be as simple as joining all of the LDs together and i can get 20mW optical output power :yabbem:. But if the process is not simple, why some laser vendor like Thor Laser and Spectramedics just sum all of the LDs to get the total optical output power? :thinking:

Now i'll try get LDs from optical drive. Can i harvest red laser diode from DVD-ROM like LG-GDR-8162 or ASUS CRW-5232A3??

Ok that Thor laser site

660nm Visible Red Laser Cluster Probes

1000mW
5 Diodes
5 x 660nm 200mW
1,000mW Total

well i never saw sugh weird laser device but it's just 5 laser dots not 1 beam , and probably not even focused to a beam

weeba2kv said:

Ok that Thor laser site

660nm Visible Red Laser Cluster Probes

1000mW
5 Diodes
5 x 660nm 200mW
1,000mW Total

well i never saw sugh weird laser device but it's just 5 laser dots not 1 beam , and probably not even focused to a beam

Click to expand...

Yeah that one, although it doesn't focused into single beam, can we say that the device have 1 Watt optical output power?

gimli said:

Can we say that the device have 1 Watt optical output power?

Click to expand...

Device has 5x 200mw output power.....saying 1W would be kinda cheating(but technically true)

Ah laser medicine (and I don't mean legitimate uses like lasik etc) .. the latest thing in current quackery. heh. If shining IR or 660nm on your skin does anything.. it's purely from the placebo effect of believing it's doing something... which wouldn't work on me.

You can probably get some DVD burners for free, from local PC repair stores, if they have the CD not working.

Combined CD / DVD burners have 2 laser diodes inside, IR for CD and red for DVD ..... usually, when the CD part stop to work (the reader still see DVD but not see CD anymore), they change them, and PC shops usually throw them away ..... anyway, asking costs nothing, i suppose