Why do green lasers have to warm up?

[jamied360]

When i use my laser (10mW) it takes a few seconds for the dot to reach full brightness. Why is this?

 

[Rhith]

What brand of laser is it?
Could be also for the circuitry to have the power to fully go through it and get everything going.

 

[Rasel]

At 10mW, there really shouldn't be any warm-up time... it sounds to me like some battery or circuitry issues like Rhith said.

You will see warm-up periods in higher powered lasers. The diodes run best at a certain temperature so they will get better as they heat up I think.

 

[jamied360]

It has no brand, just a chrome leadlight look-alike.

 

[Rhith]

Well with both of my DX lasers they have a very short moment (Half a second at most) until they come up to "full power". My True 5mW sort of ramps up to power where as my True 30mW will jump up to power after a moment. It shouldn't be anything to really worry about unless it's really effecting performance.

 

[Benm]

Most greens have a relatively small thermal range for optimal performance, and ideally this is a bit above ambient as to sustain continous operation.

I actually notice the difference now that it's getting colder here... especially in my DX30. At a bit over 20 degrees it shoots up to full power in a second or two, but when it's been in a colder room (say 15 degrees) it easily takes half a minute.

 

[Things]

The crystals inside the laser are more or less efficient at different temperatures, so if you laser is really cold, it may be dim untill it warms up, our you warm it up by holding it between your hands, or if it is hot, it may be dim also, but at a certain temperature, the laser will reach full power(unless you have mode hopping issues)