[Laser] Digikey IR Laser.

[laser@mailman.qth.net]

Hi group.

A few months ago someone mentioned the 120mW IR laser available from digikey 
at $20 (ish)

I was going to order one, but wondered if anyone in the group has used one of 
these devices and has any practical tips.

e.g.
What's the supply current to output power response like?

Is the standard brass housing large enough to dissipate the heat from a 120mW 
diode or should I be looking at mounting it in a large heatsink?

It's the first time I'll have used IR.  Does anyone know if a typical digital 
camera LCD for monitoring my attempts to focus the optics.

Finally, I realise that 120mW is dangerous..........I plan to use a 50mm dia 
lens with a short focal length to produce a beam that's somewhere between 30 
and 50mm dia. Hopefully this will be a safe level of 'power density'.  If the 
diode has a divergence of 30 degrees, then a convex lens of about 25mm focal 
length should do the job.
Now to find the best material for the wavelength......

Thanks.

If it all works I'll write up the results on my laser pages.


David    G0MRF              <A HREF="www.g0mrf.freeserve.co.uk">www.g0mrf.freeserve.co.uk</A>


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