Are laser diodes sensitive to vibration?

[Jedi]

Simple question. Are laser diodes sensitive to vibration? Say I drop said laser, mounted in a housing, on the ground. Can this damage the delicate insides of the laser diode? Second, say I have a cell phone vibration motor installed into said laser (for interesting beam effect). Will this vibration potentially shorten the life of the diode?

 

[IsaacT]

My guess is probably not for a simple diode, but obviously for any DPSS lasers you run the risk of ruining any alignment inside the laser. Somebody may come along and correct me, but I am pretty sure our diodes are pretty well secured within themselves.

 

[Jedi]

I would agree DPSS would be more inclined to sensitivity. As far as diodes, like the m140, would the "filaments" (proper term?) of the laser chip be prone to degredation under vibration while at max output? http://users.telenet.be/nihao/Laser/Macro/Macrodiode-5.jpg

 

[IsaacT]

My guess is no. If the unit is vibrating, then the case is vibrating with the filaments. The filaments seem to be well fastened to the diode, so I don't foresee damage....don't attach your lasers to a jackhammer and expect them to survive, but I don't see them getting damaged from small vibrations like the ones you refer to.

 

[bobhaha]

It's all about mass....

Vibrating a bond wire inside a diode to the point where it breaks or bends, will have to be extremely specific. The only "movable" parts in a diode is the bond wires, which have very little mass, so general use vibrations would not cause any disturbance to the position of the wire.

If you are talking about sharp vibrations, where the change in direction is quite quick and sharp, then I would be more worried about the front window of the diode cracking. If this does happen, you can always decan the diode and all would be fine. But it is a pain in the ass to do.

 

[DTR]

I have seen diodes go LED from impacts without damage to the bond wires. I always assumed it was the mirrors in the lasing cavity being damaged from the shock of the impact.