How do i know if iv blown my 6w laser diode

[LaserDave1]

Hello,
I bought a 6 watt laser diode a couple of months back with the driver, and recently the driver broke, and since the driver costed me $26 i wanted to make sure that before i buy it that the laser diode isnt broken aswell. so stupidly i connected it to 3 3.7 volt Ultrafire Batteries to see if it was broken or not, and it didnt come on for a while then suddently it turned on and then went back off, i tried it again and it couldnt come on (note i only tried it for like 10-20 seconds max) so i just wanted to know if iv blown it or not, hope i havnt blown it otherwise there goes $150

-Thankss

 

[CurtisOliver]

Well, I can't say for sure but it sounds to me like you could of killed the diode. Connecting batteries directly to laser diodes is never a good idea. Laser diodes need regulated current and batteries don't offer that which is why we need drivers in the first place. I'm sorry to say, it sounds to me like you did have a working diode with a just a faulty driver but now you have neither. Take that as a lesson learnt in future. Also 10-20s is quite a long time. :thinking:

 

[lasersbee]

Hello,
I bought a 6 watt laser diode a couple of months back with the driver, and recently the driver broke, and since the driver costed me $26 i wanted to make sure that before i buy it that the laser diode isnt broken aswell. so stupidly i connected it to 3 3.7 volt Ultrafire Batteries to see if it was broken or not, and it didnt come on for a while then suddently it turned on and then went back off, i tried it again and it couldnt come on (note i only tried it for like 10-20 seconds max) so i just wanted to know if iv blown it or not, hope i havnt blown it otherwise there goes $150

-Thankss

Well the first clue would be that there is no
Laser Beam...

If the Batteries are fully charged and installed
in the proper direction and the Laser Switch is
turned ON and you have no Laser Beam it could
be that the Batteries... Laser Power Switch...
Laser Driver or Laser Diode is defective.
The only way to know which it is... is to test
the various possibilities.

For your first post I would suggest that you
introduce yourself in the Welcome section
of the Forum and show your Global location
in your profile.

Jerry

 

[Lifetime17]

Hi,
If you had a PSU and a test load you can test the diode and driver other wise there is no telling . Testing all possible areas is the only way.

Rich

 

[vortish]

also please intro your self in the intro thread and put a location on your avatar pls

 

[Encap]

Well the first clue would be that there is no
Laser Beam...

If the Batteries are fully charged and installed
in the proper direction and the Laser Switch is
turned ON and you have no Laser Beam it could
be that the Batteries... Laser Power Switch...
Laser Driver or Laser Diode is defective.
The only way to know which it is... is to test
the various possibilities.

For your first post I would suggest that you
introduce yourself in the Welcome section
of the Forum and show your Global location
in your profile.

Jerry

also please intro your self in the intro thread and put a location on your avatar pls

Ditto the above. Welcome thread is necessary.

 

[deadshadow]

3 fully charged lithium batteries would defenetly kill any diode conected without driver.lesson learned, i made the same mistake when i was just getting into the laser hobby with a 200mw 405nm diode

 

[grainde]

If you only used one cell to test the diode may be ok. At max. 4.2 V the diode will draw around 2.5 A which is fine. It may therefore be the battery. Does it have a protection circuit and can it handle 2.5 A continuous draw? If you used 2 x cells ie 8.4 V you could easily have killed the diode.

If you didnt kill it due to over current, there is also the possibility it could have died due to static discharge, or over heating if it wasnt in a proper heatsink when you ran it.

Normally when the diodes die they LED so you will see some light, but very weak. If there is nothing coming out, check all your connections and the battery first.

If you want to test it again (safely) either buy a new driver, or use a PSU and set the current to around 1 A just for testing. Also use a grounded mat and wrist strap and remember to discharge the caps on the driver by shorting the output leads from the driver before soldering to the diode.:beer:

 

[deadshadow]

If you only used one cell to test the diode may be ok. At max. 4.2 V the diode will draw around 2.5 A which is fine. It may therefore be the battery. Does it have a protection circuit and can it handle 2.5 A continuous draw? If you used 2 x cells ie 8.4 V you could easily have killed the diode.

If you didnt kill it due to over current, there is also the possibility it could have died due to static discharge, or over heating if it wasnt in a proper heatsink when you ran it.

Normally when the diodes die they LED so you will see some light, but very weak. If there is nothing coming out, check all your connections and the battery first.

If you want to test it again (safely) either buy a new driver, or use a PSU and set the current to around 1 A just for testing. Also use a grounded mat and wrist strap and remember to discharge the caps on the driver by shorting the output leads from the driver before soldering to the diode.:beer:

he actually used 3 cells so thats around 12v with uncapped current,it would definetly not go 'led' with those conditions as those small wires on the emmiter would instantly melt from the high current.
even 1 sec would be enough to kill it :undecided:

 

[grainde]

Ahh missed the "3 3.7" cells. Then its definitely dead.

 

[diachi]

he actually used 3 cells so thats around 12v with uncapped current,it would definetly not go 'led' with those conditions as those small wires on the emmiter would instantly melt from the high current.
even 1 sec would be enough to kill it :undecided:

Where's the train of thought there...? Surely you'd think to check if that's a good idea or not before you go ahead and destroy a $150 diode...? Surely if you're messing around with 6W diodes you'd know better...?

Is it just me? :thinking:

 

[Encap]

Where's the train of thought there...? Surely you'd think to check if that's a good idea or not before you go ahead and destroy a $150 diode...? Surely if you're messing around with 6W diodes you'd know better...?

Is it just me? :thinking:

100% right.
The OP did say "so stupidly i connected it to 3 3.7 volt Ultrafire Batteries to see if it was broken or not" so all that can be said is: yes, very stupidly.

 

[lasersbee]

And the OP hasn't been back since....

Jerry