Do I need a heatsink?

[jellis1234]

So i'l soon have a 200mW module. With this relatively low power would I need a heat sink?

 

[jeffreythe00]

to be short and simple. Yes you do. Usually a penhost will disperse some heat but generally you meed something to draw heat away from the module. Your duty cycle will be like 5 sec on 15 off should you choose no heatsink. Perhaps someone else can explain the amount of heat produced by a 200mw laser. I don't know the correct math.

 

[anselm]

What do you mean, "module"?
Is it just a diode in an Aixiz housing or what?
In that case, yes you need a heatsink if you want to run the diode for more than 5~10 seconds at a time.
Laser diodes ALWAYS need SOME sort of heatsink, it is matter of current flowing vs heatsink size.

If it is a 445nm diode, to get 200mW output you'll have to feed it with about 300-400mA @ 4V = ~1.5W total power.
Take away the 200mW optical power, you still end up with ~1.2W of heat you need to take care of.

 

[Coherent Light]

Yes You will still need a heat sink...

 

[TTerbo]

i have a small labby heatsink you can buy if you want.

 

[lasersbee]

So i'l soon have a 200mW module. With this relatively low power would I need a heat sink?

As was stated above... yes a heat sink will be required if you run that
200mW laser for more than a few seconds between cooling cycles.
That is if you want your Laser to not suffer any internal heat damage.

BTW the relatively low power Laser can blind you... I hope you have
appropriate Laser Safety Goggles for the wavelength of Lasers you
have...


Jerry

 

[Toke]

I assume you are talking about a green module.
The standard size come in 5-200mW, the 200mW have a current of 750mA+.
It will need a heatsink.

There are places that can sell you both goggles and a holder/bracket that will serve as heatsink.
Here are two kinds of holders for a 12mm module, and some good googles.
http://aixiz.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=183
http://aixiz.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=224
http://aixiz.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=51
Here are some cheaper goggles.
405nm,450nm,473nm,532nm laser safety goggles [OLGLG532] - $19.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products

 

[jellis1234]

I ordered these safety glasses about a week ago.
Protection Goggles Laser Safety Glasses Green Blue (eBay item 110607705525 end time 04-May-11 18:12:57 AEST) : Business Industrial
It's a 445nm module which a member of this forum will be making for me. I also have a green "150mw" module which I will need to make a heatsink for.
Are the glasses even any good?

 

[Kansas Outcast]

Those glasses arent much better than your normal sunglasses >.< i'd go with these ARG - Blu Ray, Argon, Blue, KTP [NR-ARG-EN207] - $80.50 they were suggested to me by Jayrob and I would make sure if you choose some other goggle brand make sure its OD rating is 6+... eyesight is worth the money to me

 

[lazeerer]

Those Glass are just fine for 445nm diode at that power you are getting. However your Green laser module will most likely not have an IR filter so those goggles will only block the Green light but pass IR.

 

[JaiNobeZ]

@Kansas Outcast: Thus reducing a 200mW beam to 0.0002mW (i.e. invisible).

For 200mW, OD2-3 is fine.

 

[DrSid]

Those glasses arent much better than your normal sunglasses >.< i'd go with these ARG - Blu Ray, Argon, Blue, KTP [NR-ARG-EN207] - $80.50 they were suggested to me by Jayrob and I would make sure if you choose some other goggle brand make sure its OD rating is 6+... eyesight is worth the money to me

How can you tell by just looking at them ?

 

[MrPromaster]

can you build a heatsink for for Aixiz housing from an old Pc CPU heatsink???

cheers, MR

 

[chipdouglas]

^^^^ yes. if you have the proper tools to get a hole approximately 12mm, and if there is enough solid space to drill said hole.

michael.

 

[MrPromaster]

this is the Heatsink i have, as you can see it has flat parallel sides which i can drill (probably with a piller drill and a jig). once the hole was drilled i would then insert the housing and paste some thermal component between the housing and the individual 'walls'. would this be effective?? any better ideas??

 

[chipdouglas]

paste is good, but it would be complimentary to also adding a set screw.

michael.