- Joined
- Feb 4, 2010
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Hi everyone. I got my hands on a couple new toys... some 375nm UV laser diodes.
First and foremost... don't expect these to suddenly start flowing in like the sharp diodes did. This find was lucky; and that's all there is to it. I'm on a couple mailing lists for diodes - every now and then something strange pops up - this is one of those cases, just like with the 480's and 495's a few years ago. I don't think these are going to be in constant supply, especially at a reasonable price. These aren't the most expensive diodes I've ever bought, but they're not very far from it. I imagine at least one of the other buyers involved will be showing theirs off, so I'd like to make this post to claim the record for the most powerful UV handheld laser, even if only for a few days
All that said, let's get on with it. For my build, I asked Rich for this:
On the inside, I settled on a micro flex drive and a G8 lens. The datasheet suggests 370mA operating current, so I soldered the micro flex to the 100-412mA range, and cranked up the pot. After that, the most stressful part of the whole job. Pressing the diode, soldering it to the driver, and making sure it all works. Thankfully it went without any problems and I didn't ruin a diode that costs more than my first car.
Finally built, and what can I say..? The color is not what I expected it to be, having a 355nm to compare to. I expected this to be a dim blue-ish gray, but it was actually a dim violet. If you pointed it at a wall and called it a true 5mW 405nm, I would believe you until I saw the rest of the room glowing.
Something that will be a lot of fun is seeing what all glows in the dark. My ceiling tiles do.
The diode is multimode, and I'm able to compare the spot sizes with some cyanotype paper. (33 feet and at aperture, various lenses)
Classic bar shape. That said, it being multimode is usually unnoticeable, it's way too blurry to tell after a certain distance. If you're familiar with the halo around a 405nm, imagine the same thing but with about 3 times the diameter. But... get too far away from it, and the halo surrounds the spot fluorescing whatever material it's pointed at. Really, really odd to look at.
Anyway, that's a wrap. Full album of pictures is here, every now and again I add to them. To end it, some odds and ends from the album:
---
Keeping a table of reference material for anyone else who may need it.
Driver - Micro Flex Drive set to 380mA
First and foremost... don't expect these to suddenly start flowing in like the sharp diodes did. This find was lucky; and that's all there is to it. I'm on a couple mailing lists for diodes - every now and then something strange pops up - this is one of those cases, just like with the 480's and 495's a few years ago. I don't think these are going to be in constant supply, especially at a reasonable price. These aren't the most expensive diodes I've ever bought, but they're not very far from it. I imagine at least one of the other buyers involved will be showing theirs off, so I'd like to make this post to claim the record for the most powerful UV handheld laser, even if only for a few days
All that said, let's get on with it. For my build, I asked Rich for this:
A few days later I had this waiting at my door. He nailed it.
On the inside, I settled on a micro flex drive and a G8 lens. The datasheet suggests 370mA operating current, so I soldered the micro flex to the 100-412mA range, and cranked up the pot. After that, the most stressful part of the whole job. Pressing the diode, soldering it to the driver, and making sure it all works. Thankfully it went without any problems and I didn't ruin a diode that costs more than my first car.
Finally built, and what can I say..? The color is not what I expected it to be, having a 355nm to compare to. I expected this to be a dim blue-ish gray, but it was actually a dim violet. If you pointed it at a wall and called it a true 5mW 405nm, I would believe you until I saw the rest of the room glowing.
Something that will be a lot of fun is seeing what all glows in the dark. My ceiling tiles do.
The diode is multimode, and I'm able to compare the spot sizes with some cyanotype paper. (33 feet and at aperture, various lenses)
Classic bar shape. That said, it being multimode is usually unnoticeable, it's way too blurry to tell after a certain distance. If you're familiar with the halo around a 405nm, imagine the same thing but with about 3 times the diameter. But... get too far away from it, and the halo surrounds the spot fluorescing whatever material it's pointed at. Really, really odd to look at.
Anyway, that's a wrap. Full album of pictures is here, every now and again I add to them. To end it, some odds and ends from the album:
---
Keeping a table of reference material for anyone else who may need it.
Driver - Micro Flex Drive set to 380mA
| Lens | Power Output (380mA) | Size (33 feet) | Notes |
| Acrylic | N/A | N/A | Lens melted. |
| 3 Element | 161mW | 3/4 Inches | Marginal loss in power, evident in brightness. Surprisingly not the best beam shape either. |
| G2 | 258mW | 1 1/4 Inches | Highest output power, evident in brightness. As expected, worst beam shape. |
| G3 | 228mW | 5/8 Inches | Close focal length |
| G8 | 243mW | 5/8 Inches | Far focal length. I am using this lens after cutting down the barrel size with a dremel. |
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