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This is excellent, excellent news. Sony attempted to make green LDs nearly 10 years ago, but were stymied by very short device lifespans. I believe these GaN diode 'recipes' have peak operational efficiencies at high frequencies. First BluRay diodes were developed (405nm), then 440nm.. and...

Excellent writeup.. and even better photos!! There seems to be a trend, and it's not good for us DIYers.. manufacturers are making it harder to extract these diodes. It used to be most of these sleds had closed can diodes that were press-fit into a heatsink. They could usually be easily be...

Nice Build! I like the big heatsink block you've mounted the diode in. Definitely a true 'DIY' with parts you happened to have laying about. You're not the only one that still prefers red. It's my favorite laser color, followed by green. BluRay and 440nm are fun but rather eye raping, IMO. I'd...

Sigh. In that case I'll probably drive these diodes (when I get them) around 250-300mA. Appreciate you testing and sacrificing!

In the case of this particular diode I agree. Simply because the diode is so inexpensive I don't care if it doesn't last for more than a few hours. Even with a lifespan of just a few hours that's a long time if you only use it in short bursts. I'm gonna order some of these, and I'll be putting...

I disagree. For a given species of diode the lower powered ones will live longer. On average of course. More power == more heat, and this alone will lower the life expectancy of the diode. It's not a linear relationship, sometimes a little more heat will cause the LD to decay exponentially more...

Well, I used to be able to evaluate old, < 25mW, red diodes visually. However at the power levels we're talking about here it's likely not possible. :( Too bright to tell the difference. Same things with the blue diodes-- too bright and the eye is not sensitive enough to those freqs.. Anyway...

Mike - Thanks for posting these numbers. Looks like a decent diode, especially considering the price (!) It appears 400-450mA will reliably produce 1/4 watt of power. If I might suggest another metric for evaluating the diode? It's simply the most efficient point in the operation of the...

Re: 440nm light and eye damage True. This is just an 'FYI' on my part - I really don't know whether the links I posted are relevant to 440 nm lasers. Understand the type of damage being discussed is more long term and cumulative, rather like how smoking increases your risk on cancer later in life.

Re: 440nm light and eye damage Not nearly as concentrated as 500-1000 mW of laser light. I'd hazard you're gonna get a lot more retinal bleaching looking at the spot of a powerful laser compared to your computer monitor.

There's increasing evidence that 405nm radiation is much more damaging to the health of your retina than green or red light. See these two links: Information for Therapists on Light Therapy and Retinal Damage Blue Light Therapy and Age-Related Macular Degeneration - AMD from the second link...

440nm light and eye damage See these two links: Information for Therapists on Light Therapy and Retinal Damage Blue Light Therapy and Age-Related Macular Degeneration - AMD from the second link: Note the peak wavelength for retinal damage is around 440nm! Apparently below about ~470nm light...

Steve - Excellent post. Normally I'm a 'live and let live' kind of person, and don't like any sort of regulation(s).. However, 1 WATT of coherent focused light is very powerful, well beyond what I'd consider a sane level for any sort of 'pointer' device. The thought of this much power in the...

Re: 445nm Casio Laser Diode Compilation Thread Any more info on the diode? Is this one single mode diode, or more like a diode bar? Beam specs don't look so great. Too much power for what I'm lookin' for, however it's nice to see these diodes finally dropping in price.

Here's a link to a recent news brief: Blu-ray.com - Sharp Readies BD-100 Blu-ray Laser Apparently this new 'facet passivation' technique will allow longer lifetime, greater power(s), and better tolerance to high temps. All good things for laser pointers. Appears those monster 1/2 watt bluray...

Yes, thank you! PM sent.

Looking for 2-3 of the xbox 811 diodes - either lone diode or sled. This is the less popular of the two xbox diodes - most people want the 803t. Want these to make some low power (25mW) pointers.

the 'TV static' is created because the laser beam is coherent, and interferes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interference) with itself. See the 'double slit' experiment also .. something you can recreate easily using a laser.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment. Interference is...

Re: making first blue ray laser and have a questio If you want to assemble the driver circuit yourself, i recommend the (commonly referred to around here) 'ddl' circuit. look in this lunker thread for more info: http://www.laserpointerforums.com/forums/YaBB.pl?num=1185701612 advantage of this...

i was one of the first to make a pointer with the (defunct) xbox 405nm diode, about a year ago now. before this about the only inexpensive 405nm diodes were from PS3 (?) sleds. remember ordering the drive and then ripping it apart.. extracting the diode (811) was an involved process. i remember...