My first project

[qumefox]

I have a 5,5v 200mW driver for the bluray diode.

I shall look into the microboost one for 445nm. I ordered already a 6V 300mA driver from ebay. Isn't this suitable, even though it says it is a driver for high powered red lasers?

Or am i confusing something here? 6V@300mA = 1,8W

And yes, i have read these forums, hour after hour. There is tons of information, i wish i had the time and patience to read through it all.

445 isn't red. lol. It's a GaN diode like the blurays. Entirely different from reds.

Casio 445's are high power diodes, they don't even start lasing until ~250ma or so. Maximum safe input current is around 1.5A.

You also have to remember that only a fraction of the input power gets output as light, the rest gets turned into heat.

For instance, with the diode pulling 5.5v and 1A from the driver, it's putting out around 1 watt of light and 4.5 watts of heat.

 

[reivanen]

Ok my problem was i thought they are 1000mW input, but it is 1000mW of optical output?

Maybe i try to focus building the 405 bluray, and then start pondering with the 445, it seems i have still a long way to go learning the basics.

 

[Morgan]

Do you have any links to the drivers you are/have ordering/ordered? This will help a great deal.

Red diodes typically have a forward voltage of around 2.5V, the more common Blurays around 5-5.5V and 445nm around the 4.2-4.5V.

It really depends on the driver you have though. The one you have could be a buck/boost driver for a red, (unlikely but possible), and this may be capable of driving a higher voltage diode but with limits.

For more info on drivers, try this link in the DIY Group - http://laserpointerforums.com/group...ng-you-ever-wanted-know-about-drivers-87.html

M

 

[reivanen]

405nm Blu-ray Laser Diode Driver Board - V2 up to 200mW on eBay (end time 17-Aug-10 07:32:47 BST)

This one i am using for the bluray diode now.

 

[qumefox]

Ok my problem was i thought they are 1000mW input, but it is 1000mW of optical output?

Maybe i try to focus building the 405 bluray, and then start pondering with the 445, it seems i have still a long way to go learning the basics.

No, laser diodes are rated as far as light output, not total power input. But for a first build, it is safer to go with something a bit smaller. 1 watt of coherent light is a lot of power and is pretty dangerous. Not to mention it's fairly hard to get these casio 445's to operate stably at low power. From everything I've read, their power output tends to fluctuate drastically depending on temperature. So if you had one lasing at just above threshold,say, 275ma input, it's output could vary anywhere from nothing to 100mw depending on the temperature of the laser.