PHR dying

[FlightLevel350]

My phr laser has recently switched from a round dot (at focus) to a strange rectangle with a bright dot centered on the longer axis of the rectangle(also at focus). It looks a bit like this (my camera cant take pictures for some reason)

___o___
l______l

Can I safely assume this diode is dying and I need a new one?

 

[nikokapo]

Are you sure you didn't touch the diode's window?

Also, your camera can't take pictures because you're maybe putting it too close to the subject and thus it can't focus.

 

[daguin]

The PHR has lots of artifacts around it normally. Some of them are yellow! It is possible that you are just getting used to the color enough that you are beginning to see them now. My little 11mW lecture pointer looks like it has a space ship around it

Peace
dave

 

[matrixcs]

well i guess dave this is the led effect of the phr, i guess its really dying, that happened to me twice in the past, afterwars the phr will die completely..

at what current did you set this PHR?? better set it at 110mA <-- for longer life.

 

[FlightLevel350]

That's sort of what I thought, since the diode appears to also have lost its burning ability, I can't even feel the heat on my skin

 

[billg519]

Sounds dead to me. If the burning ability is gone and the remaining beam distorted, it is basically dead. The facet may have become damaged except for one tiny area that still generates a little violet light. The other night an SF-AW210 went out on me. The burning ability went, and there were two tiny violet spots with a dark patch in between instead of a round/oval dot.

 

[Gryphon]

I've never had a diode slowly die out on me, its always good one sec, then toast the next