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Low Divergence Diodes

Sherako

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Jun 18, 2019
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Making this post to grab anyone's attention that has knowledge of low divergence diodes. I want to break away from the NUGM04 / NUBM0C.

Please feel free to post your favorite low divergence diodes / opinions / any information that would be good about this topic.

Again, divergence, not profile. I understand the larger a beam starts out it is stereotypical for it to have a lower mRad.

I'd most likely be doing testing both with and without various beam expanders, so please yes low divergence diodes that output "clean" and "healthy".

ALL VISIBLE wavelengths welcome here, and the more power the better, but without sacrificing it's tightness. (Kinda like a sweet spot)

Just feel free to post the diode of this nature that has a special place in your heart.

Thank you! ♥️
 





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BDR-209 can do almost 1w but the visibility of 405nm isn't as good as the 520nm or 488nm I linked above which are nice and I drive them both at 250ma

Look Here

 

Sherako

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BDR-209 can do almost 1w but the visibility of 405nm isn't as good as the 520nm or 488nm I linked above which are nice and I drive them both at 250ma

Look Here
I am VERY BIG fan boy of DTR as per his user accessibility. "This is the highest power single mode 405nm diode available." 😍🤤

The violet has always seemed VERY pretty to me (but don't have a build 😔)

Links given are MUCH MUCH appreciated! :)
 
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If you like 405nm then this is not bad, not as tight as a single mode but good for a multi mode, drive @ 2A MAX and use a G8 lens.
 

Sherako

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If you like 405nm then this is not bad, not as tight as a single mode but good for a multi mode, drive @ 2A MAX and use a G8 lens.
Thank you for letting me know! :) It seems these DVD burner diodes have less love than the mainstream diodes and finding information takes a bit more digging. I am excited to start my journey on small form factor / low divergence builds! :)

They're so cheap I might just make a build of each highest power single mode (not looking to over run them that bad, like for the BDR-209 800mw output maximum)

And I just noticed you're profile picture! 😍

I would've liked to make some nubm31t build or something but honestly, I think I'll play it safe and go the opposite direction and save some money and go for quality over quantity. I am just IN LOVE with the effect at the tip of laser beam in sky putting a 3x beam expander on a nubm44-v2 build. And oh man is it not really something you can ever put in your pocket 😅
 
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I use the G8 lens on my Sharp 488's and Osram 520's and the far field spot rivals the best 532nm dpss laser pointers, that is the older ones with a good far field concave/convex pair, before they redesigned the lenses for lighting matches which only makes an over sized spot in the far field at it's best focus.

These pics don't really show how well you can see the spot in the far field, but it's a much nicer beam than the multi-mode rectangle that makes a linear spot without corrective optics.

There's a small box artifact with the 488's but it's no big deal, just vaguely noticeable up close in certain lighting scenarios, but the Osram 520's are pretty clean with a G8, I often use shrouding after my lens which I lock down at infinity to mask any flair, a simple black cardstock paper tube rolled to fit inside your extension works well, but it's not needed unless your really picky, sometimes I am, sometimes not.

Remember to always be very careful and obey all local laws when pointing at the sky/stars, always look and listen for any aircraft before lasing and choose a good area and/or a good time of day, very late night is usually a low/no traffic time of day.





SANY3751.JPG
 
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kecked

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There was a 250mw 660nm red single mode diode for like 3.00. I do not remember the exact diode but it is open can. It’s an excellent diode. You could pbs waveplate two for 1/2 watt. By far I think the 445nm single mode blues have the tightest beam.
 
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This will be one of the brightest readily available single modes, you can get nearly a 1/4 watt @ 1/2 an amp but best to stay just under, set for 450ma or tune until you see 200mw with a G2 or G8 lens.
 
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There was a 250mw 660nm red single mode diode for like 3.00. I do not remember the exact diode but it is open can. It’s an excellent diode. You could pbs waveplate two for 1/2 watt. By far I think the 445nm single mode blues have the tightest beam.
Maybe the ML101U29 or LPC826/LPC840?
 
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The ML101U29 is the least expensive one of those diodes. I still have a few in my stock and got them for ~$2.00 each. The LPC840 seems to be the highest power red diode in single mode. I have one doing better then 400 mW.
 




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