Most effecient diode?

[joeybab3]

I know this is probably a question hat wouldn't be well recieved so i took it to off topic:

I'm trying to write up a page on efficiency for the wiki and i was wondering if anyone knew what the current diode that averages the best electricity->light ratio is?

 

[Pi R Squared]

I know this is probably a question hat wouldn't be well recieved so i took it to off topic:

I'm trying to write up a page on efficiency for the wiki and i was wondering if anyone knew what the current diode that averages the best electricity->light ratio is?

You mean the diode with the best power input to power output ratio, please use correct terms. No one has ever bothered to gather efficiency data on the diodes we use as far as I know. It's not something you can look up anywhere, it's not listed on the data sheets. It has to be calculated from info on the data sheets and/or from testing, and then the figures will only be typical or approximate because each individual diode will vary some.

This seems like something one of us should do, although I think it would take many hours of work to make a list of all the diodes we use or even just the ones DTR sells and list the efficiency of each one, but there's no reason it can't be done. I am tempted but I don't think I should, I already have a thread I have put off posting for months just because it will take several hours.

Let's have a look at one diode, ok let's look at the Oclaro 700mW 638nm also known as the HL63193MG, with max operating current of 1100mA and operating voltage of 2.8V its power output should be ~700mW. That means the diode is consuming 3.08W of power to output only 700mW, this gives us only 22.7% efficiency.

Now someone please do this for every last diode so we know how efficient they all are. :crackup:

If anyone doesn't understand this, keep in mind the 3.08W of power is what the driver is providing to the diode, we are talking about the diode only here, your laser will draw slightly more power from the batteries or power supply because some power will be lost in the driver as they are not 100% efficient either.

Alan

 

[Cyparagon]

IR diode bars can achieve 60% efficiency or higher.

 

[joeybab3]

I actually thought about saying that but i wanted to keep the title short, i actually did use that term instead in the page and i know that a lot of people use diodes all im asking for is some rough estimates such as "1000mw per 1amp" or something of that sort i think there was a form out there somewhere where people put there diodes and what they ran at as well as the mw output. I could set up something like that i guess

 

[Encap]

I actually thought about saying that but i wanted to keep the title short, i actually did use that term instead in the page and i know that a lot of people use diodes all im asking for is some rough estimates such as "1000mw per 1amp" or something of that sort i think there was a form out there somewhere where people put there diodes and what they ran at as well as the mw output. I could set up something like that i guess

From: SOLID STATE LASERS FROM AN EFFICIENCY PERSPECTIVE http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20080007132.pdf
Summary " Solid state laser efficiency is analyzed from a product of efficiencies point of view. Many of these efficiency factors are dependent on energy transfer processes which are characterized byenergy transfer parameters. These parameters are often difficult to measure but they can be calculated. Laser performance of several solid state laser systems was characterized by a threshold and slope efficiency."

That the information is not available anywhere even within the laser industry should tell you something. It varies from diode to diode even within the same diode production---but mainly because it's useless and meaningess generally speaking having nothing to do with the real world of using the diodes available or that information would be in the data sheets- it is not for several reasons. There is no choice but to use the diodes that exist like it or not. Have a look at Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology - wall-plug efficiency, electrical-to-optical, all-solid-state lasers

Generally speaking red are more efficient electrically than blue or green " Power Conversion Efficiency----Diode lasers can reach high electrical-to-optical efficiencies – typically of the order of 50%, sometimes even above 60%. (There are development programs on the way to push efficiencies of high-power laser diodes above 70%.) The efficiency is usually limited by factors such as the electrical resistance, carrier leakage, scattering, absorption (particularly in doped regions), and spontaneous emission. Particularly high efficiencies are achieved with laser diodes emitting e.g. around 940–980 nm (as used e.g. for pumping ytterbium-doped high-power fiber devices), whereas 808-nm diodes are somewhat less efficient." from Encyclopedia of Laser Physics and Technology - laser diodes, semiconductor, gain, index guiding, high power

Here is one that has 64% efficiency IR diodes being more efficient that others -- http://www.jdsu.com/ProductLiterature/paper_hipower_910_980_laser_diodes.pdf

Here is one IR that is 76 % peak efficiency at 10°C and 85% at –50°C. http://www.nlight.net/nlight-files/file/technical_papers/nLight_SHEDs_CLEO06_v2.pdf

Here is a list of all Laser articles A-Z in Wikipedia --maybe you will find something interesting you want to look deeper into https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laser_articles

 

[icecruncher]

They are SOOOO much better than other options like CO2, HeNe, Argon and Krypton as far as efficiency, price and usually life span.

There are numerous sites that can give efficiency for other types of lasers and it is terribly low.

Like .003% to .07% for argons - compared to 50% for diodes.

I know that didn't answer the question, but does give a good comparison. 50% is a good efficiency, especially with a laser.

 

[doubleone44]

You can also go with DPAL, or diode pumped alkali lasers if you want higher efficiencies than DPSS. (up to 40% with quantum efficiencies in the medium of up to 99.6%!)

- Double

(for anyone that wants to know more, I'm going to make a thread on this cool new still totally scientific and for us totally unusable type soonish if there's enough interest)