NUBM07 nominal current setting?

[smana]

I notice many here using 3.5A for this diode but on ebay, the specs for this diode shows a nominal setting of 2.3A and maximum of 3.5A.

Does anyone know what a good safe current setting for long life is without going unnecessarily low?

The difference between 2.3A and 3.5A is huge and 2.3A seems almost unnecessarily low.

What do you all think?

 

[RedCowboy]

If you are running this diode de-canned, that is with the protective cap that contains an integrated lens removed, then 2.3 or 3.5A doesn't make any real difference, because as I understand it this diode's substrate is known to be hygroscopic ( absorbs water ) and it's facet has a protective coating to prevent this, however when lasing tiny contaminants in the air will burn onto the facet at the tiny p/n junction and damage the coating which allows moisture from the air to seep in and fracture the substrate, so they use a protective can with either an AR coated window or an integrated AR coated lens and an inert gas backfill to prevent this from happening, this extends the MTTF from a few hours of collective runtime to 20,000 hours of total runtime on average.

Now if you have this diode with a replaced window can and backfill then 3.5A should be no problem as long as you have a good heatsink and/or observe a duty cycle as to prevent overheating while lasing, there is also a newer MM laser diode in this 465nm average wavelength that's the stronger NUBM0C

So if you want to run the NUBM07 de-canned which most people do ( so they can focus the beam with an adjustable lens ) then you should get a NUBM07 with a replaced window can like this if you want a normal lifespan of hundreds to thousands of hours depending on how hard you overdrive it, but either way 2.3 or 3.5A is a moot point if running it without the protective backfill gas.

 

[smana]

ok, thank you for the info.
When you say running at 2.3A or 3.5A while decanned doesn't make a real difference, I assume you mean diode life will be short either way because of diode contamination.

I'm going with the new unmodified diode for longer life.

As for the unfocusable factory g-ball lens, what about using the de-collimator + G8 lens from Barnett? Anybody have any experience with this Barnett product?

 

[RedCowboy]

I haven't used a Barnette de-collimator yet, however I have had mixed results with my own.
Yes you will get more output @ 3.5A than @ 2.3A and 3.5A is fine as long as you have your diode in a heat sink and don't overheat it.
Here's a video of Jordan testing the output.

 

[Thorsteenster]

No experience here, but Barnett does have a G-Ball Adjustable Lens Adapter

 

[smana]

Just saw Jordan's video. Thank you.
The Barnett G-ball adjustable lens adapter is the same thing as the de-collimator I was referring to.
Seems nobody here has used it yet. I may give it a try.