Noob please help

[fishbone00]

Hi, I'm pretty new to lasers, I'm also studying to be a electrical engineer and I had a good amount of questions.
1) First off the TO-x what does it mean on a laser diode?
2) I got a TO-5 laser diode 1 Watt (just the diode) I already salvaged a couple of heatsinks from some old computers I had laying around and I will eventually make holes with my dremel tool. I need a housing unit, lens and also a control unit if I am correct. Did I miss something?
3) What control unit for a 1 Watt laser diode should I pick? (I want to use it to engrave wood and plastics)
4) I want to transfer the photons through a fiber optic and build a little pen, how do I assemble the fiber optic on the diode? Do I need special lens?
Also I would appreciate any links as a tutorial on these subjects AND links where to buy housing units and lens cheap (if it is ebay could you please tel me what to write because I cannot for the life of me get any results)

Thank you in advance for your time on this and also admins and moderators I am sorry if this thread is a repeat!

 

[Cyparagon]

1. The ACTIVE part of a laser diode is a microscopic plane. The rest is substrate and a case that supplies power, protects the die, and removes heat. The case styles can be quite different. TO-56, TO-3, and c-mount are a few examples of the names given to the various packages.

 

[Flaminpyro]

Yes if you have a 1W LD then you are going to need an Aixiz module to mount it in to remove the heat and to hold the lens.

Yes you will need a special lens if you plan on using fiber optic cable.

Yes you can find many of these items you are going to need on eBay.

Right now the P3 drivers are sold out but there are others being made right now
And if you plan on making a engraving machine then you are going to need a driver like the P3 or the EDB driver.

Have a good day :beer:

 

[fishbone00]

Can somebody tell me the name of the lens for the fiber and also what kind of fiber do I need? (Single strand, multi strand?) Also an online shop with all the stuffr needed? (Housing unit for TO-5 Aizix I guess, lens for fiber, the fiber itself and the control driver).
If I forgot anything please let me know and thanks again for the info!

 

[Bob_Boyce]

Can somebody tell me the name of the lens for the fiber and also what kind of fiber do I need? (Single strand, multi strand?) Also an online shop with all the stuffr needed? (Housing unit for TO-5 Aizix I guess, lens for fiber, the fiber itself and the control driver).
If I forgot anything please let me know and thanks again for the info!

The TO-5 is commonly called a 9mm package. The 1W laser diode is going to have multimode emission, which means that there will be a very high amount of divergence in one axis of emission, much higher than the other. This results in the raw laser diode output looking like a rectangular bar. In order to couple more effectively into a fiber, you will need to install a FAC (Fast Axis Correction) optic to bring the emission shape closer to round. Then you will need to focus that output into the end of the fiber. You really should use some sort of fiber connector that allows you to change out the attachments. It can be done, but is not going to be easy, especially for someone new to fiber coupled lasers. Adjustability of the mounts for your optics and fiber will make it easier for you to fine tune. To do this well with a 9mm laser diode may require you to decan (remove the can from) the 9mm laser diode so you can get the FAC optic mounted right up close to the facet (emittter) of the laser diode die. Much of the emission from a 9mm will be so widely diverged by the time it exits the 9mm package window that it may be very difficult to capture all of the emission. For a 1W laser diode, avoid acrylic optics. They can melt or at least degrade at the higher optical power densities involved.

Most of us that work with fiber coupled lasers will use FAP (Fiber Array Package) style laser modules which already contain the required optics and fiber connection. Most already have the laser die installed and the alignment done at a factory that is well equipped for this precision operation. I do have a few scrap FAP mounts in my scrap gold bin that have bad laser diode dies mounted on them that might be adapted, but even that operation is very difficult to perform without the proper tools and materials. The "solder" used to attach the die to the gold mounting surface is indium, and the bond wires that carry current to the top of the die are very tiny. Look at my avatar for an example of a 3W CW 808nm C-mount laser diode with the factory mounted FAC optic. The FAC optic is hard to see, a thin strand FAC lens glued at both ends to support it being positioned right in front of the die facet. The little globs of glue are visible at each side of the pic.

For handheld laser engraving, you can probably use a surgical laser wand adapted to fit your fiber connector. Just be sure to use one designed for the wavelength you intend to use. The ones used for eye surgery are typically designed for 532nm and would work well for most of the visible spectrum. The ones used for dental or bone tend to be Er:YAG and further into IR, not well suited for the visible spectrum.

Bob