To-3 674nm Score!

[532 with Envy]

Howdy all....

Okay, so I purchased this from an auction not long ago that most thought would just supply junk. I am sure that there are many that Did get lead instead of silver, but I was not one!

I bought this along with my CO2 laser(still a work in progress)
It was a crap shoot and I figured at least from the picture that was provided I would get a prism pair out of the deal.

Now I have no experience with TO-3 diode packages. From the research I did there are many kinds. Some 2 pin, 3 pin, 9 pin....you get the picture. Some with built in TEC(pretty cool)....I did find this Great Old post here on LPF but didn't want to Necro-post sooo....
http://laserpointerforums.com/f44/different-types-laser-diodes-30003.html

SOOOO.....I started just trying different pins with (+) and (-).
Granted this is by no means the scientific way of going about it, but my internet resources were coming up with many different answers to what the pin-out could be. Also I could not find any information on my :

HMG.Inc...A Hitachi metals/ Melles Griot company.....then the last sheet of information that came with the module is....Coherent!:thinking:
This as you may think made my research a bit more tough....

SOOOO...I degress....back to just trying pins, with my bench top PSU and a whole lot of luck I hit it.
I wanted to post pictures for two reasons.....first off, this may be of some little help to others with a strange TO-3 diode, and second....it's pretty cool!

Enjoy!:beer:

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1A 3.7V......325mW!!!

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Needless to say that I am happy that now, as soon as I make a good housing for this, I have a pretty nice Red lab laser.

(might even be able to push it further.):lasergun:

 

[benmwv]

Looks very nice! Has that "professional look"

Do you have any specs on what the power might be? Seems to me that a big ole TO-3 diode may be able to do more than 325mw, but then again it could just be an older model. Does it get hot quickly? Seems like it is a bit inefficient with 3.7v 1A for just 325mw.

Hard to beat for just 10 bucks!

 

[JLSE]

Haha, welcome to the club :beer: I paid just over 100$ for mine :undecided:

Mine has the TEC and got the spec sheet for it. These are pump modules rated for
500mW but I think its safe to say that a "long life" 500mW means 1W isnt out of reach..
Just make sure if it has TEC to use it. The LD is mounted directly on the TEC and
if you dont power it, it cant cool.

Ill take a snapshot of the specsheet for you :san:

Heres mine>

The LD has an FAC and the aspheric lens is nice on these..

These are Coherent modules sold by Melles IIRC..

 

[532 with Envy]

Haha, welcome to the club :beer: I paid just over 100$ for mine :undecided:

Mine has the TEC and got the spec sheet for it. These are pump modules rated for
500mW but I think its safe to say that a "long life" 500mW means 1W isnt out of reach..
Just make sure if it has TEC to use it. The LD is mounted directly on the TEC and
if you dont power it, it cant cool.

Ill take a snapshot of the specsheet for you :san:

Heres mine>

The LD has an FAC and the aspheric lens is nice on these..

These are Coherent modules sold by Melles IIRC..

I have the spec sheets, is there any way that you could show me the back and the different pins you are using. I found the anode and cathode. Perhaps you could point me to the TEC (+) and (-).:beer:

Edit: how are you powering the TEC and Diode at the same time? Would I be able to use my bench top PSU for both?

 

[JLSE]

I have the spec sheets, is there any way that you could show me the back and the different pins you are using. I found the anode and cathode. Perhaps you could point me to the TEC (+) and (-).:beer:

Edit: how are you powering the TEC and Diode at the same time? Would I be able to use my bench top PSU for both?

I would recommend a TEC controller of some sort. If im not mistaken the feedback
is 10k. I have to dig mine up, and am pretty sure I wrote down the pin diagram..

 

[Meatball]

Heya neat setup there guys.

What does the beam profile look like?

 

[JLSE]

I only powered mine up once or twice, still need to find some
time to play with it more.

Because its made for pumping im guessing the prisms
are set in place for just that and the beam could be
improved..

IIRC mine had a square profile and crappy divergence,
but only because of its intended use.

I was thinking of using the prisms and aspheric for a 635nm
c-mount and pop it in a handheld. The prisms are nice and small

 

[Meatball]

Do you know what medium 674 can pump?

Google is not helping...

 

[JLSE]

I think it was in the blue range, though I cant remember.

Here are the specs mine came with and the datasheet with the TEC pins below.

 

[532 with Envy]

Thanks wannaburn I got all those spec sheets except the last one with the pin-out

I'v had my eye on a TEC controller I saw for $50, I guess it's going to be time to pick one or two up.

@Meatball.....The beam seams to be pretty tight after the lens and then prism pair. I'll see if I can get a quick photo at some point, but it looks pretty close to a nice dot, although it is still a bit rectangular in shape(just a bit).

 

[532 with Envy]

Quick question for those in the know......

Do you think that I could use my bench top power supply set at a certain point(Amps and Volts) to run the TEC while I wait for a proper TEC controller?

 

[JLSE]

You can feed the TEC directly, but may be risky with this
setup. I use a simple circuit to control, I have to dig up the diagram
haven't used it in some time.. Though even with this you have to
experiment a bit and get it set up before employing..


I will PM you with the circuit as soon as I can find it, got it
here somewhere :undecided:

 

[532 with Envy]

Thanks Wannaburn....This may be a good exercise for building circuits of my own. Still have some reading to do as far as all the symbols but I might be able to build one.

I'm just a bit itchy now that I know this unit runs!!

 

[JLSE]

PM sent

Its nice and simple so you shouldn't have any problems replicating
it on a breadboard.

 

[532 with Envy]

Can't rep but you still have my thanks for the help!:beer:

I'll keep in touch with my progress, this will also hopefully spur my other C-mount 635nm build that was waiting as well.

 

[JLSE]

No problem :beer:

Just remember with an exposed LD, condensation becomes a factor.
The LD in this thread is closed in, and shouldn't be an issue..

Looking forward to some 'cooled down' beam shots