Did I possibly damage my laser?

[Sporkmaker]

I have a Dragon Lasers Spartan 1W blue which I bought several years ago and rarely use because I have since upgraded to better ones. The other day I went to use it and absentmindedly forgot about the little safety plug that screws into the hole where the beam is emitted. I clicked the activation button and nothing happened, so I clicked it several more times before realizing my mistake. At this point I hadn't kept track of how many times I had pressed the button and now had no idea if the laser was on or off. I thought about it for a bit and removed the batteries. When I examined it I found that the laser had indeed been firing with the plug in place - less than a minute in total.

So is there any possibility that the contained beam and/or built up heat has damaged any of the components? I think I recall reading somewhere in this forum that the lenses are plastic in these models. So far it seems to be functioning normally and I don't see any difference in the beam but I thought I would check with the experts here.

 

[lasersbee]

It would be nice if you introduced yourself in
the Welcome section for all new members and
told us a little about your self. It would also be
helpful to the Forum members if you included
your Global location in your Member Profile.

Jerry

 

[paul1598419]

It is poor etiquette to use your first post to ask for help here. It would be better for you to take the time to introduce yourself first. That said, those lasers don't come with acrylic lenses. If the beam stop is plastic and melts, it can damage the glass lens.

 

[lasersbee]

Actually it is his 3rd Post and still has
not introduced himself to the community.

Jerry
​

 

[Sporkmaker]

Sorry, no etiquette breach was intended. I've added a quick introduction.

those lasers don't come with acrylic lenses. If the beam stop is plastic and melts, it can damage the glass lens.

The beam stop is metal and I can't see any physical damage to any of the parts. Just wondering if there might have been harm done to the lense etc. which can't be readily seen. Thanks to everyone for the help.

 

[Alaskan]

If you can’t see smoke damage to the lens from black paint burning off the plug (if it had paint) and everything else appears OK, I would think it is fine.

 

[Radim]

Usually red diodes are known to be sensitive to back reflection. Since (even it is black) the cap is a bit glossy somehow (not perfectly matt), there is a small risk of causing some damage to active lasing region of the diode IMO. It all depends on the energy density at focussed spot in the active region and duration of exposure.

Closer examination of laser dot and LPM measurement could help to investigate. Still it might be not noticeable and OK (aka under more less normal wear and tear).

Check this for info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catastrophic_optical_damage

And linked thesis in the article linked above:
https://edoc.hu-berlin.de/handle/18452/17486