Review of the Directly-Injected 515nm Green Diode Laser Module

[The_LED_Museum]

Directly-Injected 515nm Green Diode Laser Module, retail $61.60 (www.instapark.com...)
Manufactured by (Unknown) for Instapark (www.instapark.com)
Last updated 12-02-13

This is a green-emitting diode laser.
But it's not DPSS (Diode-Pumped Solid State) like those now-common green laser pens -- no, this one uses a new technological advancement that allows green laser radiation to be produced directly, without the need for those messy, fragile nonlinear crystals!

It's rated to produce 5mW of laser radiation at 515nm in the bluish-green part of the spectrum (these values were measured at 9mW with a wavelength of 513.38nm).

This is part # 594SD52005 on Instapark's website.


Because this is a laser, you should not shine it into your eyes, other people's eyes, pet's eyes, etc. Just use a little common sense here, k?

SIZE

To use your new (and yes, as of late-2013 this technology is NEW) Directly-Injected 515nm Green Diode Laser Module, affix the heatsink first (it simply slips over the metal part of the laser) and hand-tighten the plastic screw on its side. This screw can be manipulated with the
fingers (no tools necessary); please do not use a screwdriver or else you'd risk overtightening and/or stripping the threads on it.

THIS HEATSINK IS VERY IMPORTANT; THE DIODE WILL HEAT UP QUITE RAPIDLY AND MAY FAIL WITHOUT IT IN PLACE!!!

Feed the laser anywhere from +2.5 volts to +5.5 volts DC from any convenient source -- this could be two or three AA cells connected in series, a product like the Aixiz Diode Laser PSU, or even a lithium-ion 18650 cell like the type that powers the 2 Watt S3 Spyder Arctic G2 445nm Blue Laser w/SmartSwitch™.

As usual, red wire is (+) positive and black wire is (-) negative.

If you wish to have a power (on/off) switch, you'll have to procure & install it yourself. The two wires on the switch go to the laser module's red wire and the battery (+) positive.

My Aixiz Diode Laser PSU was used to power the laser module for all of the measurements, analyses, and beam photographs present on this web page.


The Directly-Injected 515nm Green Diode Laser Module is not water-resistant or submersible (it's a laser module for Christ sakes!!!), so please keep it away from water.

The published specs on this laser module are as follows:
o Emission Wavelength: 510nm to 530nm
o Optical Dot Power :4.0mW to 5.0mW (Top* = 77°F (25°C)
o Operation Temperature Range: 14°F (-10°C) to 122°F (+50°C)
o Operating Current: <265mA
o Operating Voltage: +2.5 volts to +5.5 volts DC
o Beam Size @ 15m: 9mm (slow axis) X 15mm (fast axis)
o Operation Temperature Range**: -4°F (-20°C) to 140°F (+60°C)


Below, you'll find my power output and spectrographic findings (both measured with instruments specifically designed for this purpose).

Tops out at 9mW on a LaserBee 2.5W USB Laser Power Meter w/Thermopile.

Mid-term (2,185 seconds) stability analysis.
Laser temperature was measured at 104°F (40°C) at 2,170 seconds into the test.

Beam photograph on the test target at 12".

Beam photograph on the test target at 12"; the other (the yellower one toward the top) green spot is coming from my Evo Smartphone-Controllable Green DPSS Portable Laser outputting the same power.

Beam photograph on a wall at ~10 feet.

Spectrographic analysis of this laser.

Spectrographic analysis of this laser; spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 510nm and 520nm to pinpoint wavelength, which is 513.38nm.

Spectrographic analysis of this laser; spectrometer's response narrowed to a band between 800nm and 874nm to check for the presence of a pump laser -- which none exists (I irradiated the spectrometer's sensor quite well in effort to capture this!)

The raw spectrometer data (tab-delimited that can be loaded into Excel) is at http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/44/515green.txt

USB2000 Spectrometer graciously donated by P.L.


A beam cross-sectional analysis would normally appear here, but the computer that hosted the ProMetric 8 Beam Cross-Sectional Analyser was destroyed by a lightning strike in July 2013 (the monitor had this big-ass hole blown right through its viewscreen); although a replacement computer is already en route (it just came several days ago actually), there's a fairly significant chance that the beam cross-sectional analyser itself was also taken out because both the computer & test instrument shared the AC power at the same outlet on the same power strip.


​

TEST NOTES:

Test unit was purchased on Ebay on 11-13-13, and the wrong unit was received on 11-18-13; the correct one was received on 11-25-13.


*Top = ambient operating temperature


** Yes, this value is stated two times in the operational materials; two differing temperature ranges are given.


UPDATE: 12-02-13
Just a subjective observation here...this laser module makes all 532nm green DPSS laser modules and portable lasers look much more yellowish than they used to.



PROS:
Very unique beam color -- 515nm is very radiant and unusual
Beam is clean with no unwanted artifacts or speckling in it


NEUTRAL:
Seems to run a bit warm


CONS:
None that I've yet to discover

MANUFACTURER: Unknown
PRODUCT TYPE: Laser module
LAMP TYPE: Directly-injected green-emitting diode laser
No. OF LAMPS: 1
BEAM TYPE: Very narrow spot -- it's a laser, remember?
SWITCH TYPE: N/A
CASE MATERIAL: Fiberglass (PCB) & metal
BEZEL: Metal; laser diode & collimating lens recessed into hosel for them
BATTERY: N/A (uses any source of +2.5 V to +5.5 V that can source 265mA)
CURRENT CONSUMPTION: 150.380 mA at +3.860 volts
WATER-RESISTANT: No
SUBMERSIBLE: No
ACCESSORIES: Toroidal (doughnut-shaped) heatsink
SIZE: 26mm L (incl. driver circuit) x 5.50mm Dia.
WEIGHT: 1.20g (0.040 oz.)
COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE: Unknown/not stated
WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated


PRODUCT RATING:

Update 11-27-13: Performed spectroscopy again to check for the presence of a pump laser operating at NIR wavelengths.

Update 12-02-13: Added a subjective comment that this laser makes DPSS laser pens look downright yellowish in comparison.

 

[slymartins]

Very cool review!! Thank you! Appreciate you including the links throughout too. Seems more like an aqua color than green. Very cool.

Question: what usually causes the artifacts/speckling? Crappy cover lens for the diodes?

 

[Blord]

That is a tiny module. Only 5.5mm wide at the black heatsink. No wonder it get hot it is using without a second heatsink.

Thanks for the review. 513nm is surely different than the 520nm lasers.

 

[BowtieGuy]

Nice in depth review; beautiful color. It sure would be great to see a higher powered version.
It does pass the most critical test... the cat likes it!!

 

[NightExplorer96]

Wow, that does look amazing indeed!

I actually was thinking about this kind of technology yesterday, how one day we could have wavelength's without crystals. Guess it happened today

+Rep to you my good sir.

 

[Atomicrox]

Nice laser and review!
Wonder how long before we have ebay $5 pens with these. Probably less than a year

 

[Cyparagon]

That is not the spectral width. You have ignored by comments about the importance of knowing the limitations of your equipment. Your accuracy is NOT high enough to quote that many decimal places, nor is your line width low enough to quote line widths lower than 3.

Maybe you need to prove it to yourself. Do you have a neon lamp or other gas discharge lamp?

 

[The_LED_Museum]

That is not the spectral width. You have ignored by comments about the importance of knowing the limitations of your equipment. Your accuracy is NOT high enough to quote that many decimal places, nor is your line width low enough to quote line widths lower than 3.

Maybe you need to prove it to yourself. Do you have a neon lamp or other gas discharge lamp?

I used the spectrometer's data file itself to arrive at that value (and that many decimal places!); nothing was "fudged" or guessed at. :-/

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Very cool review!! Thank you! Appreciate you including the links throughout too. Seems more like an aqua color than green. Very cool.

Question: what usually causes the artifacts/speckling? Crappy cover lens for the diodes?

Artifacts are usually (but not ALWAYS) caused by contamination on the laser diode's output window or on either side of the collimating lens. At times, some artifacts are also caused by the beam hitting (and subsequently reflecting off) the walls of the metal casing that the (still cone-shaped) beam has to travel through before it reaches the collimating lens -- I have seen this occur in some cheap Chinese laser modules.

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

Wow 150mA for 5mW, that is pretty inefficient. I would almost suspect that there is a 10XXnm diode in
there injecting a nonlinear crystal. Any chances you might sacrifice it in the name of science to find out?

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Wow 150mA for 5mW, that is pretty inefficient. I would almost suspect that there is a 10XXnm diode in
there injecting a nonlinear crystal. Any chances you might sacrifice it in the name of science to find out?

Best I can do here is run it through my spectrometer again to look for a secondary, near-IR line from a pump diode.
Being my first and only directly-injected green laser, I'm unwilling to sacrifice it in the name of science. :-/

 

[The_LED_Museum]

Wow 150mA for 5mW, that is pretty inefficient. I would almost suspect that there is a 10XXnm diode in there injecting a nonlinear crystal.

I just performed spectroscopy in a futile attempt to try & detect the presence of a pump laser operating at NIR wavelengths...none was found.

 

[kilter]

definatly +1 after it makes me spread some

 

[FireMyLaser]

Wow 150mA for 5mW, that is pretty inefficient. I would almost suspect that there is a 10XXnm diode in
there injecting a nonlinear crystal. Any chances you might sacrifice it in the name of science to find out?

150mA on the input, not on the diode. It uses a boost driver, which need higher input current per less input voltage.

 

[Cyparagon]

I used the spectrometer's data file itself to arrive at that value (and that many decimal places!); nothing was "fudged" or guessed at. :-/

You're still not listening. The data is wrong. I've explained to you why already.

Do you have any discharge lamps or glow lamps? Even a fluorescent lamp?

 

[The Lightning Stalker]

150mA on the input, not on the diode. It uses a boost driver, which need higher input current per less input voltage.

Ahh yeah, I didn't see the coil on there so I had assumed it was a linear driver. That is a tiny
coil.