Laser diode burnout

I recently bought a NUBM08 laser module. When I supply power to it, it seems like the initial spot is slightly larger and brighter than it is after say a half a second after being turned on. I am thinking this is just how these drivers work, but I'm unsure and hoping this guy isn't slowly dying. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps your eyes adjusting to the sheer brightness of the spot? If anything the driver should work the other way, with a soft start.

Moto154 said:

I recently bought a NUBM08 laser module. When I supply power to it, it seems like the initial spot is slightly larger and brighter than it is after say a half a second after being turned on. I am thinking this is just how these drivers work, but I'm unsure and hoping this guy isn't slowly dying. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

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Could be the power supply be loading. What are you using to power it with?

hook it up to a DC power supply unit to omit the driver and see if it does the same thing. if it doesn't then you know its your driver, if it does then you know its your diode.

I figured out the problem. I tried to use two 18650 batteries for the power source; this would normally be fine but my 18650 batteries are terrible (they output 3.6V and drop in voltage fairly quickly). I decided to power the laser with three 18650 batteries. Little did I know, one of those batteries was pretty much dead and I think this is what was causing the weirdness. Once I switched back to the two batteries I knew were good, the weirdness went away. I'll just have to deal with the batteries until I get new ones. Thanks for the input. I appreciate it