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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Why did it die?

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Oct 16, 2012
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Hi all...so I'm guessing that voltage not current control may have resulted in runaway current burn out but I'm not sure...I have a 10mw green laser module...standard module driver + diode in housing... I made a little circuit with a 555 and Tip32...thought pulsing would allow a little 'overclocking' without burnout. The system worked perfectly :) and for a week or so I was using it intermittently on my benchtop. Then all of a sudden one day, with no warning, no smell sound or smoke...it just stopped. I checked the circuit with an LED and also another (red) laser and it worked fine (although I then unhooked the red laser so I didn't lose another). I'm not sure what the problem was so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know..
Thanks in advance
Blue Wolf
 





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I don't know where you got the idea that pulsing somehow "overclocks" it, but it's false.

Were you powering the driver, or the pump diode? Picturess would help.
 
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Sorry ... I don't think pulsing overclocks per se... I was running 6V through the TIP32 .. and the module was rated at 3V...as I noted though it seemed to work fine for quite a while and then suddenly....no more
 
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Hi all...so I'm guessing that voltage not current control may have resulted in runaway current burn out but I'm not sure...I have a 10mw green laser module...standard module driver + diode in housing... I made a little circuit with a 555 and Tip32...thought pulsing would allow a little 'overclocking' without burnout. The system worked perfectly :) and for a week or so I was using it intermittently on my benchtop. Then all of a sudden one day, with no warning, no smell sound or smoke...it just stopped. I checked the circuit with an LED and also another (red) laser and it worked fine (although I then unhooked the red laser so I didn't lose another). I'm not sure what the problem was so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know..
Thanks in advance
Blue Wolf

We would need to see your actual circuit schematic to
be of any help.
A 555 and TIP32 does not a circuit make..:cryyy:


Jerry

You can contact us at any time on our Website: J.BAUER Electronics
 
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It's rated at 3V and you supplied 6V. Then it died. Where's the confusion? What did you think would happen?
 
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I get the thing with the voltage...let's rephrase the question ... why did it happily emit for a number of days experimenting before suddenly dying without any warning or sign...the circuit is a 555 astable providing a trigger to the TIP32 which opened a 6v channel through the gate...pulsing at around 15 hertz (roughly) ...
 

Things

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You need a current regulated driver. Voltage regulation may work fine for a while, but eventually it'll come back and bite you, like you've just experienced. Pulsing a laser only lowers it's _average_ power. It's still being over driven for the period of time it is on, and it only takes microseconds to damage a coating on the die or melt bond wire.

Lasers die without warning all the time, and over driving it is just helping that percentage along. I've had lasers that last for months then just fade out never to return one day, that's the nature of overdriving them.
 
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Hi Things...I thought as much...just looking to confirm...I've got three new modules so I will begin work on a driver with regulated current and see how it goes...the only reason I was unsure was that it was running through a module and not direct to the diode (ie the 555 circuit was not the actual driver...the driver is built into the module) so I was under the impression that the current would be regulated...anyway I'll try another approach and see how I go!
Thanks all for your advice

:)
 
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So you're asking why it ran for a while and then died? The same can be asked of a marathon participant in the Sahara. Think about it.
 
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Thanks for your wisdom Cyparagon...but actually I was asking why the current limiting module through which the voltage was being driven failed or whether it was indeed just a voltage issue and nothing to do with current at all.

Cheers
:)
 

Hiemal

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Bluewolf, what you did doesn't change how much power the driver has to dissipate...

Since you're putting 6 volts in (pulsed), it'll have to drop twice as much voltage, so basically dissipate about twice as much heat.

You killed it by putting too much voltage in. Heat is not good for electronics, in any way shape or form.
 




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