is my IR diode dead???

[cyclonite]

now now ladies... stop fighting over me

c'mon both of you have mentioned very valid points. thanks for all your help and advice.

 

[Eudaimonium]

Well if you're all done calling eachother various body parts,

I'd like to point out a tiny teeny little fact that everybody overlooked and it's the reason why diodes may or may not die randomly on you- Your alligator clips that you connect the diode with.

Don't do that.

Use a solid, permanent soldered connection. Alligator clips are not permanent connection and are far from reliable. All it takes is a milisecond for the output capacitor of your driver charge up while the clip is disconnected, and shoot all that through your diode next time the connection is made. Again, it all happens in a milisecond.

Solder the diode's connections, don't take any shortcuts. Otherwise you'll just end up on eBay looking for a new IR diode.

 

[cyclonite]

Eudaimonium, Thanks and yes I'm aware of the risks of a lose connection therefore I always make sure my clips and contact points have a positive connection prior to doing anything, and I am very careful not to move the entire assembly when the power is turned on. Thanks again

 

[lasersbee]

Well if you're all done calling eachother various body parts,

@ Eud....
OK daddy....
Speaking of body parts.....:crackup::crackup::crackup::eg:

But Eud is correct.. Laser Diodes are very sensitive to
electrical spikes and over currents which can be caused
by intermittent non soldered connections.

IIRC the question was if the LD he had was damaged...
not how it got damaged.


Jerry

You can contact us at any time on our Website: J.BAUER Electronics

 

[Eudaimonium]

@ Eud....
OK daddy....
Speaking of body parts.....:crackup::crackup::crackup::eg:

LOL,

Well you know, it started with "asses", as in my experience, thread is on a good way to escalate to an anatomy lesson :crackup:

IIRC the question was if the LD he had was damaged...
not how it got damaged.

http://www.bauer-electronics.com/

That's exactly what I was wondering from the start. It's not like myself didn't destroy a few diodes that way back in my starting days.

You think you've got a dud, but after a few drinks, reviewing your actions, you figure out that alligator clips might not have been such a good idea.

Eudaimonium, Thanks and yes I'm aware of the risks of a lose connection therefore I always make sure my clips and contact points have a positive connection prior to doing anything, and I am very careful not to move the entire assembly when the power is turned on. Thanks again

Good to know you are aware of it, but still, PLEASE do that sldering, I was just putting out a warning out there because, like I've said, not like I burned out a small bunch of diodes that way or anything

It's really not worth the trouble - one would think it's saving some time, but actually, burn out a diode or two, factor in the "time=money"... Ehh

 

[cyclonite]

Yes yes ok... thanks

 

[Flaminpyro]

Are you going to solder the leads and shine it on a white or solid color flat wall so we can see the beam pattern ?

 

[cyclonite]

no I haven't got any single coloured surface in my flat so I can't do this unfortunately. I think the diode is OK. I'm just waiting for the module now.

 

[cyclonite]

Hello hello,

I've got breaking news!! I've FINALLY received the module and so I went ahead to press the diode in with some heatsink compound as well. The diode went in quite easily so I'm sure it's removable.

Now for the sad part, I'm unable to burn anything with this diode even when the beam is focused to the smallest possible dot at just a few inches away

This isn't right for a 1000mW laser.

I've uploaded some beam shots as attachments here.

I would greatly appreciate some thoughts on this matter. Please help :yabbem::yabbem::yabbem:

Thanks again great guys!!!

 

[Spectre Gadget]

Bad diode? Hard to tell for sure without an LPM. IR diodes are very faint (visually) to begin with.

If you're focused in correctly, it should burn.

 

[cyclonite]

Ok so the diode is dead right? I'm supplying the right amount of Amps to it.

Thanks.

 

[lasersbee]

I would like to see a pic of the raw beam profile without
the lens like in the 2nd and 4th pics.

The lens could be cutting of a good percentage of the beam
since the LD is not FAC lensed. You could only be getting
part of the total beam through the lens like this ----(---)----

OR

It may be damaged and only putting out a fraction of it's
max power.

What is the current running through the LD on those pics ?

BTW.. the only way to know the output of Laser is to measure
it.


Jerry

You can contact us at any time on our Website: J.BAUER Electronics

 

[Eudaimonium]

Sorry to tell you, but yes, it is dead.

Beam profile is asymetric, you can clearly see how some emitters are dead.

Let me dig up some old pic...

That's what raw 1W 808nm diode output should look like.

 

[cyclonite]

Hi guys,

More pics uploaded below. This time the lens has been removed. This time I've shined the beam against a plain black tissue paper.

Verdicts please.


Thank you.

 

[Eudaimonium]

Yep, ded.

You can see how the strip of light has a black area in it? It's because the emitter is damaged.

Sorry dude Trip to eBay, I guess.

 

[cyclonite]

Thanks. I'll ask for a Refund/Replacement now