Well, I feel stupid

[SodaAnt]

I have somehow managed to LED my new 445nm diode within about thirty minutes of receiving it. My best guess as to the cause is forgetting to short the capacitor before connecting the diode. However, I calculated the total stored energy of the cap to be only 0.00025 Joules, and I don't think that would be enough to kill the diode. Other than that, I can't think of anything that could have killed the diode, especially since I have hooked up both a red and a green laser to the circuit before with no issues.

If it helps, here are some pictures of the circuit:

 

[Eudaimonium]

Your problem is the breadboard you're having your whole setup on.

You see, problem is as follows - The connection is not permanent. Your diode's pins are socketed in the breadboard, but just simply touching the wires can sometimes break up the connection for few miliseconds. Which is more than enough than needed for output capacitor to charge up. Milisecond later, when connection is re-established, capacitor dumps all power stored within it, into the diode.

Which is a bad thing.

Can you solder? It would be great if you can at least solder your setup to Protoboard.

Soldering is one mighty skill to have. And incredibly easy to learn and master.

 

[SodaAnt]

Your problem is the breadboard you're having your whole setup on.

You see, problem is as follows - The connection is not permanent. Your diode's pins are socketed in the breadboard, but just simply touching the wires can sometimes break up the connection for few miliseconds. Which is more than enough than needed for output capacitor to charge up. Milisecond later, when connection is re-established, capacitor dumps all power stored within it, into the diode.

Which is a bad thing.

Can you solder? It would be great if you can at least solder your setup to Protoboard.

Soldering is one mighty skill to have. And incredibly easy to learn and master.

Ok, so that makes sense. As for the protoboard, I am planning on doing that as soon as I can stop being lazy and get the board and plan it out. Also, I can solder, and do so on a regular basis. You can't see it in the picture, but right out of view is my Hako 936.

Also, unless you're running at just over threshold, you need MUCH more heat sinking on your diode module and current regulator.

At what current were you running it?

I was running it at about 300mA, and I plan on getting a heatsink for it as soon as possible, I just wanted to make sure it worked first before I try to machine a heatsink for it. However, the current regulator doesn't get too hot, even when I've had it output 1 amp for about 20 minutes, it never got above 150 degrees F, which is well within its operating range.

 

[Eudaimonium]

Hakko 936?! Wow! I always wanted Hakko, but it was a little bit over my budget, I got myself Aoyue 936. Basically the same thing.

Well, it would be even greater if you could etch your own PCB for this project, so there's more DIY feel to it

 

[SodaAnt]

Hakko 936?! Wow! I always wanted Hakko, but it was a little bit over my budget, I got myself Aoyue 936. Basically the same thing.

Well, it would be even greater if you could etch your own PCB for this project, so there's more DIY feel to it

That's what I plan to do after the protoboard and after I get a new diode to replace the one I murdered.