FS: >110mW PHR, >140mW 4x & >170mW 6x Blu-Rays

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

And once again, it just keeps getting better! I don't know if the driver is abel to do it, but I might want to adjust one to double output. I'll probably wait for the lens first though. Glass and 405 AR coating may be plenty! ;D

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

Yeah, I'm also pretty excited about this, and I am eagerly waiting for the special lens. I am also considering to send mine back to Igor so that he can raise the current. ;D

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

The driver is capable of much more than just double current. It's highly efficient, so very little power gets converted into heat. I left one on for an hour at 190mA, and the regulator didn't get hot. It could even do twice as much and more.. The heatsink handled the heat from the diode perfectly as well. It hardly got warm. But the diode is not capable of that. Some might be able to take 190mA, but you never know when it'll just die..

At the moment i am testing 170mA, and the two lasers at this current would seem to be doing fine for now.


But i can't risk setting your lasers higher just yet. I want to give you warranty.. It'll take some more testing, to find out what is safe. But i think 140-150mW might be possible even after a plastic lens.

With the glass, who knows..

There is one thing i do know. The AR coating on the custom lens will not only make the lasers more powerful, it will also make the higher powers safer for the lasers, because light will not be reflected back into the diode.. A diode can only take so much optical power, and with clear lenses or lenses with wrong coatings, the light reflected back is added to the light coming out, which can in some cases kill the diode, that is pushed close to the limit.

Some people, who are willing to take the same risk as now, will even be able to double whatever the power increase will be this way.

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

Some people asked me how big/small the new model laser is.

It's still just as small as the original laser was supposed to be (before the supplier screwup), but it's a little more massive. I love how heavy it feels, and just looking at it is a pleasure. Pictures do not do it justice.

The entire laser body (with the tailcap) is 97mm long, and 20.5mm diameter at the head. This comes to around 3.8 inches long, and 0.8 inches diameter. With the focusing nut it comes to 99mm or 3.88 inches.

The body is quite massive aluminum, and acts as a part of the heatsink. The main heatsink is the module in the head itself. This module is 27mm long and 18mm dia, and contains everything.

Even tho it is this tiny it uses a miniature (13x9mm) constant current boost driver, and it is capable of dissipating more than enough heat. I have one running at 170mA, and it barelly gets warm after many minutes of picture taking. I have to touch it to my lips, for it to feel luke warm. When i left one on for an hour at 190mA, it got warm to the touch with lips, but it never gets hot. In the hand, it feels like body temperature. The driver doesn't heat up either, because of the very high efficiency..

Both the heat sinking and the driver are capable of much more than supporting a blu ray. It could even support an open can red, but with a duty cycle.


Here are some pictures of the new model in my hand, for size reference.

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

I finished shipping out the second batch (tracking numbers sent), and i sent everyone from the third batch an email.

If someone didn't get an email with order details, please write me asap to sort out the order details. The third batch will be finished in 2-3 days.

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

IgorT said:

I finished shipping out the second batch, and i sent everyone from the third batch an email.

If someone didn't get an email with order details, please write me asap. The third batch will be finished in 2-3 days.

Click to expand...

How would someone know if they were in the third batch and therefore looking for an email?

Peace,
dave

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

Because i told them..

Besides, it goes for everyone. They should either have gotten a tracking number or an email with questions. So if someone didn't get an email, they should write me.

If you're asking for yourself, yours is a special order with special requirements.. The batches are when i make 6-7 heatsink modules simultaneously.
But i am also preparing the pens together with the third batch. I managed to make another dozen of drivers yesterday, so the hardest part is behind me.



P.S. I know you want a bizzarelly high current, so i hooked up a dead diode to a driver at 170mA, and i will put it into the pen, to see how the heatsinking is. I think 160mA should be possible. But it still can't compare to a massive aluminum heatsink.

A dead diode also dissipates more heat, so it's a good experiment.

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

IgorT said:

Because i told them..
Besides, it goes for everyone. They should either have gotten a tracking number or an email with questions. So if someone didn't get an email, they should write me.

If you're asking for yourself, yours is a special order with special requirements.. The batches are when i make 6-7 heatsink modules simultaneously.
But i am also preparing the pens together with the third batch. I managed to make another dozen of drivers yesterday, so the hardest part is behind me.
P.S. I know you want a bizzarelly high current, so i hooked up a dead diode to a driver at 170mA, and i will put it into the pen, to see how the heatsinking is. I think 160mA should be possible. But it still can't compare to a massive aluminum heatsink.
A dead diode also dissipates more heat, so it's a good experiment.

Click to expand...

I missed the "You'll get one or the other" message. No problem. I would NEVER hurry an experiment. I am in no hurry. I'm not going anywhere. I'm burning one (with large heat sink) at 170mW after aiXiz acrylic now.

Oops! Spoke too soon. That one just went dark as I was checking it to see if the output was what I remembered from it. I may actually have to buy another sled or two It died without noticeable heating. It's starting to look like I will have to keep them under 180mA input (with good heat sink) for them to live. I've got two others at 180mA input still burning. We will see. . . .

Peace,
dave

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

so it looks like the heat that instantly appears is more dangerous then the heat that appears when more heat appears after a while. ( from low to very high to high)

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

I mean that the heat that is created in the first second is created to fast and can't be dissipated by the heatsink

ModifY:

So what I mean is that the long time "turn on's" shouldn't be a probleme for the lasers. The problem should be in the first second the laser is turned on. The first heat can't dissipate to the heatsink immediately, so the diode becomes to hot.

P.s. this is just a theorie of a n00b, I would just like some reactions on this

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

Oh man.. Was this the 190mA one? Looks like this really is too much for them. And the reflections from wrong lenses make it worse.

I already killed two at 190mA.. But the two 170mA ones are doing fine for now - but i'm almost scared to say this...
I really hope this turns out to be a safe current tho.

I managed to break the leg off one diode, so i'm thinking i should hook that one up to 170mA and let it run. And if it survives a few days, maybe change this to 180mA...

Heat is not that much of a problem with these.. The two i lost were not hot. Not even the one i left on for an hour - it was just warm. It's the current and the optical flux at the diode, part of which comes from reflections from the lenses.

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

So Igor, the question I am asking to you: Did the diodes died in the first few seconds you turned the laser on or did it happen in a couple of minutes?

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

Tim...

Answer your email..

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

IgorT said:

Oh man.. Was this the 190mA one? Looks like this really is too much for them. And the reflections from wrong lenses make it worse.

I already killed two at 190mA.. But the two 170mA ones are doing fine for now - but i'm almost scared to say this...
I really hope this turns out to be a safe current tho.

I managed to break the leg off one diode, so i'm thinking i should hook that one up to 170mA and let it run. And if it survives a few days, maybe change this to 180mA...

Heat is not that much of a problem with these.. The two i lost were not hot. Not even the one i left on for an hour - it was just warm. It's the current and the optical flux at the diode, part of which comes from reflections from the lenses.

Click to expand...

Yes, unless you are really on a budget I would always go with an anti-reflection coated collimating lens for 405nm laser diodes.  They seem to be quite fragile when it comes to back reflections.  I killed a 405nm diode with a back reflection just by using a 650nm coated lens. Some 650nm AR coatings have higher reflection at 405nm than the equivalent uncoated lens!

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

Timbojames said:

So Igor, the question I am asking to you: Did the diodes died in the first few seconds you turned the laser on or did it happen in a couple of minutes?

Click to expand...

I had two set at 190mA. One worked nicelly for long enough, that i thought it will make it, but then i turned it on, and it blinked and went off.
The other one i also set to 190mA, and left it on in front of the meter for an hour. That one died sometime during that hour. It was warm, but not hot.


But this has nothing to do with heat. There are many factors, that can lead to the death of a diode. It can be too much current or too much optical power - the diode kills itself with all the power it is putting out. And uncoated lenses or lenses with wrong coatings reflect some light back into the diode, and increase the optical power on the die. When a diode is pushed close to the limit of what it can do, the reflections from the wrong lens can be enough to push it over the edge.

Re: FS: >90mW Blu-Rays, two models: OPEN

Ok, it was just the idea that you could have a peak of heat in the first few seconds that could have killed the diodes at a high currents, but by looking at Igor's comment that isn't the problem.

Greetz,
Tim