I am very new to lasers so I wanted to get a little insight into my first build before I get started. Before I became a member, I spent a week going through this forum, other websites, and the parts I was intending on using. As the title suggests, I am very specific about the array that I want to build and I will give a brief summary for my intent. I am a chemist and there was a paper showing that a Lightscribe DVD/CD burner could convert soluble graphite oxide into single layer graphene with conductive properties. The papers and videos looked very easy and I was wanting to experiment with this in my free time. So I was going to buy one of the discontinued drives and some lightscribe DVD/CD's, but then I went down a rabbit hole and here I am. I want to make sure that I have all the parts and that they will theoretically work for a laser diode array.
The information that I have gathered is that the lightscribe burners use two different laser diodes but the one I am interested in is the CD laser diode and this puts out IR 780 nm wavelength. This is what activates the dye on the lightscribe DVD/CD's. However, I have not been able to find any other specs on the lightscribe lasers. I found that the actual burner specs are 5V <1000 mA typical, 1600 mA max but this does not help in deciding which laser diodes to buy. So I found a site about a Sony Drive that does 48X record speed using a 780 nm laser with 250 mW output so I will be going off of those specifications.
Now, everything I found about building a laser array was to combine the laser power into one beam which is not what I am trying to do. The only thing close was Styropyro's laser shotgun that uses a manufactured blue laser diode array which is the wrong wavelength, but does give some helpful information. What I am trying to do is to build a 2x2, 2x3, or 3x3 (4 diodes, 6 diodes, or 9 diodes) array depending on the limitations of the build similar to combining multiple led diodes to get larger light coverage but with the same intensity. Then, instead of using the burner, I could use this laser array and move across the surface material covering more area. Also, I would not be limited by size or having to use discontinued Lightscribe supplies.
So here are the parts I was considering. I realize they are cheapish and I am fine with that since this is my prototype.
Finally, I was going to power this with a 30V 10A Adjustable DC Power Supply Precision Variable Dual Digital Lab Test found here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/30V-10A-Ad...682122&hash=item2397066d33:g:bcIAAOSwIBJaUtij . This power supply will also let me mess around with other projects in the future. I understand that there will be more with wiring, capacitors, resistors, breadboards/circuit board, etc especially if I want to run everything off of the same power supply. But I like that the drivers and power supply are adjustable so I don't have to use more circuitry than needed. I am wondering if this is a sound starting point and will the power supply be sufficient. I won't know the resistance across all of the drivers, diodes, wires, etc. and this makes calculating a little more difficult, but I wanted to make sure the parts I listed will suffice since they are coming from over seas and takes time. I can always have a power supply or multiple power supplies depending on how everything is wired delivered quickly. I can also get all the necessary circuitry same day or next day delivery. Good laser goggles are also on my list for the project that are suited for a large range around the 780 nm wavelength.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated and I just want to make sure I am on the right track. I not looking for hand holding on this project because that is no fun for anyone. I plan on studying up on electrical circuits and diagraming my project so I can get a better idea of the calculations so I will know how to put everything together when the parts get here. I'll also take ample pictures and post as things come together. I apologize if I broke any of the newbie rules. I will do updates and edits as needed. I promise I perused the forum newbie threads and I searched multiple times for a build like this but came up empty.
The information that I have gathered is that the lightscribe burners use two different laser diodes but the one I am interested in is the CD laser diode and this puts out IR 780 nm wavelength. This is what activates the dye on the lightscribe DVD/CD's. However, I have not been able to find any other specs on the lightscribe lasers. I found that the actual burner specs are 5V <1000 mA typical, 1600 mA max but this does not help in deciding which laser diodes to buy. So I found a site about a Sony Drive that does 48X record speed using a 780 nm laser with 250 mW output so I will be going off of those specifications.
Now, everything I found about building a laser array was to combine the laser power into one beam which is not what I am trying to do. The only thing close was Styropyro's laser shotgun that uses a manufactured blue laser diode array which is the wrong wavelength, but does give some helpful information. What I am trying to do is to build a 2x2, 2x3, or 3x3 (4 diodes, 6 diodes, or 9 diodes) array depending on the limitations of the build similar to combining multiple led diodes to get larger light coverage but with the same intensity. Then, instead of using the burner, I could use this laser array and move across the surface material covering more area. Also, I would not be limited by size or having to use discontinued Lightscribe supplies.
So here are the parts I was considering. I realize they are cheapish and I am fine with that since this is my prototype.
- The diode specs are 780 nm continuous 200 mW and pulse 425 mW with a can type TO 18 at 5.6 mm found here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/10PCS-Shar...415487?hash=item48bdc47a3f:g:AksAAOSw2hxcIhuq
- The diode drivers were going to be 532nm/650nm/780nm/808nm/980nm Laser Diode Circuit Driver Board 0-800mha (it has a potentiometer so I'm assuming they meant mA). Because they are cheap, I was just going to use a driver per laser diode. Since it goes to 800 mA, it looks like I might be able to use 1 driver for 2 laser diodes but I wanted to make sure. Here is the link for those: https://www.ebay.com/itm/4pcs-532nm...654759?hash=item33e66424a7:g:WZoAAOSwJstawvmj
- And I was going to put the laser diodes into these 8x13mm Mini Case/Housing for 5.6mm Laser Diode Module w/ Dot Focus Lens found here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/5pcs-8x13m...546278?hash=item4ae0a5dce6:g:eg4AAOSwkbdbSBDX
Finally, I was going to power this with a 30V 10A Adjustable DC Power Supply Precision Variable Dual Digital Lab Test found here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/30V-10A-Ad...682122&hash=item2397066d33:g:bcIAAOSwIBJaUtij . This power supply will also let me mess around with other projects in the future. I understand that there will be more with wiring, capacitors, resistors, breadboards/circuit board, etc especially if I want to run everything off of the same power supply. But I like that the drivers and power supply are adjustable so I don't have to use more circuitry than needed. I am wondering if this is a sound starting point and will the power supply be sufficient. I won't know the resistance across all of the drivers, diodes, wires, etc. and this makes calculating a little more difficult, but I wanted to make sure the parts I listed will suffice since they are coming from over seas and takes time. I can always have a power supply or multiple power supplies depending on how everything is wired delivered quickly. I can also get all the necessary circuitry same day or next day delivery. Good laser goggles are also on my list for the project that are suited for a large range around the 780 nm wavelength.
Any feedback is greatly appreciated and I just want to make sure I am on the right track. I not looking for hand holding on this project because that is no fun for anyone. I plan on studying up on electrical circuits and diagraming my project so I can get a better idea of the calculations so I will know how to put everything together when the parts get here. I'll also take ample pictures and post as things come together. I apologize if I broke any of the newbie rules. I will do updates and edits as needed. I promise I perused the forum newbie threads and I searched multiple times for a build like this but came up empty.
Graphene is what I want to make from graphite oxide. The laser energy is some how used to drive the reaction just like adding heat. Thats what I am trying to figure out. I want a large enough laser array to cover more area so that it coverts more of the graphite oxide at one time instead of having to wave one laser diode over the same area. Raman covers most of the IR spectrum (4000 cm-1 to around 515 cm-1 instrument units) and combines it into one spectrum.