Have you ever experienced a *really* powerful laser? And when I mean powerful -- I mean able to light matches, pop balloons, and make just about anything smoke? Recently, Surbo got me interested in the world of lasers, and it has grown to an addiction. In my quest to know more, I came across the high-power laser retailer wickedlasers, and read about their new high powered $2000 Blu-Ray laser. I had to have one, no -- I HAD TO BUILD ONE. (and man am I glad I did)

The point of ignition

This tutorial will walk you through building your own $2000 Blu-Ray laser for less than $100, one that is capable of lighting matches and all the other mayhem associated with an high powered laser.

Warning, lasers are dangerous, and the following of this tutorial will produce an laser that is capable of starting fires, and could easily blind you (or someone else). Please use caution whenever using ANY laser, and never look directly into the beam, or any beam reflection. (mirrors, or other shiny objects). It takes less than a second to go blind, so always use eye protection. There is an old saying that goes "You can only look into a high powered laser twice, once with each eye"

On with the build: 

ESTIMATED BUILD TIME: 1hr

Parts List:

• Dorcy Jr Flashlight (41-4262)
• Aixiz Laser Module (use code "i-hacked" for 10% off entire order)
  
• Lava Micro Flexdrive Driver (preset at 115mA)
• Dark Horse Aluminum Heat Sink (Full Body)
• PHR-803T 405nm laser diode (continue reading on where to obtain these)

Tools Needed:

• Small Screwdrivers
• Pliers
• Small Vice
• Soldering Iron
• Side Cutters
  

Interestingly enough, the PHR-803T (Blu-Ray) laser diode is exactly what you might think it is. It is the laser that is used in many commercial Blu-Ray AND HDDVD players, meaning that you can "harvest" the diode from an old "format-war loser" HD-DVD drive that you might have laying around. I found a nice XBOX360 HD-DVD drive on craigslist for a reasonable price, and immediately demolished it, extracting the precious "laser sled". (Sorry James!)

Destroyed Xbox360 HDDVD

Extracted Laser Sled

If you have an Xbox360 HD-DVD you don't mind parting ways with, this is a great place to get the laser diode. Use the llama.com disassembly tutorial to take your drive apart.

IF YOU DO NOT ALREADY HAVE AN XBOX360 HD-DVD DRIVE YOU WANT TO DESTROY, DO NOT BUY ONE.
(it is a waste of money)

I learned this the hard way. There are several resellers that sell the sled (and diode) already removed, such as HighTechDeals (use coupon code "i-hacked" for 10% off) and on the Laser Pointer Forums "Buy, Sell, & Trade" section that will happily sell you a PHR-803T sled for under $20. This is the most cost effective way to go.

Once you have your PHR-803T sled, we must extract the diode. **LUCKILY** this sled contains two diodes, an InfraRed Diode that we can practice on, and the precious Violet "Blu-Ray" diode, which we will use for our laser build.

EXTRACTING THE DIODE & BUILDING THE LASER MODULE

Remove the "Diode Shield" by unscrewing one screw and "popping" if off. Once this is removed, the pins of both diodes will be exposed, so use extreme care during the remaining steps. You will notice the two diodes (see pic below) are held in place with some white glue. The IR diode, the one we will practice on, has FOUR pins, and the Blu-Ray has THREE. Remember, practice removing the IR one first, because we will not be using it for anything. If you destroy the Blu-Ray diode, you will need to purchase another.

PHR-803T Sled	Diode Shield Removed
Exposed Diodes. (Violet box is Blu-Ray diode, Red is IR, )

Using an exacto knife, or some other "scraping tool" (I used dental picks) remove as much of the white glue as possible. Although it is possible to simply pry the diode out with a screwdriver, our goal is to put the least amount of stress on the diode as possible by removing as much glue as you can. Once you are satisfied you have removed enough glue, pry the diode out using a flat-head screw driver -- it will kind of just snap off and be hanging by the ribbon cable. (Remember, practice on 4-pin IR first, and then do the Blu-Ray) Snip the ribbon cable as close to the diode as possible, as we will not be using it. (not as shown in pic below)

Diode removed from glue

Laser diode half-way removed from heatsink.  Ribbon cable is un-needed and should have been cut closer to diode.

The diode once removed from the sled, is still inside its own heatsink. The heatsink is the metal casing surrounding the laser diode component. To remove the heatsink, simply use two pliers to "twist" the heatsink, cracking it in two. Carefully remove the Laser diode. (remember to practice on 4-pin IR diode first then throw away the IR diode) Treat this diode with care, as you can damage it very easily. (dropping, etc)

SEATING DIODE INTO AIXIZ FOCUSING LASER ASSEMBLY

Once completely removed, we will need to completely seat the Blu-Ray diode (3 pin) inside the Aixiz module. Unscrew the Aixiz module, inserting the diode into the the top portion (smaller of two) of the Aixiz module. The goal is to completely press the diode into the module, and we will be using the bottom half (larger) to accomplish this.

Aixiz taken apart, diode ready to be seated.  The "lens" side of the diode will be inserted into the "back-side" of the top half of the module. (as shown)

Pressing Diode in vice

You will notice that the bottom half of the module has a hole on the back end. By placing the three pins of the diode into this hole, we can use it to seat the diode. After making sure the diode is perfectly aligned with the module housing, use your vice to slowly compress the diode into the module, until the diode is flush, and only the circuit board remains.

Continue seating diode

finished diode

You will notice in the pictures above, I used a paper-towel to protect my Aixiz module from getting scratched by the vice. I highly suggest a nice floral print. Congratulations, the hard part is done!

COMPLETING THE LASER MODULE BUILD

Now that we have our laser diode seated in the focusing module, we can finally move on to the electronics part of the build.  Before we begin, we will need to completely disassemble our host (the Dorcy Jr. Flashlight) 

Start by unscrewing the Head of the host, and removing the "pill" containing the LED light components.  Using your thumbs, pop the flashlight lens out of the head -- use as much force necessary, as we will not be needing it, then set the head aside.

You will need to take the "pill" completely apart.  Pry off the small silver ring on the base of the pill, and then using your thumbnail (or a small screwdriver) pry the two halves apart.  There is a seam where the yellow wire is located that makes this incredibly easy.

Light Pill (halfway) Disassembled.

The only piece you will need to salvage out of the pill is the spring, however it might be worth keeping that high-powered LED and driver (the circuit board it is mounted on) for a future project!  Keep disassembling until you can remove the spring.  Inside the spring is a copper weight, which can also be discarded, set the spring aside as you will be needing it in the next step.

The PHR-803T diode is commonly considered a 60mA diode, however they are commonly pushed to over 150mA.  To power the diode, we will be using the Dr. Lava Micro FlexDrive to supply the 115mA of power to our diode, as I consider it the "best in the business" for a number of reasons.  The flexdrive is a "boost' driver, and is extremely flexible delivering steady current, with several different power source possibilities and runs at almost 90% efficiency!

For your first laser, I suggest that you set your driver at 115-120mA, being properly heatsink'd, the following configuration should give you a lifetime of fun out of this laser.  If you are adventurous you could probably bump the power up on that. As with ANY "overclocking" the farther you push it, the higher your chances of failure. 

Before you connect your diode to the driver, you need to understand the pinout of the diode.  Using the picture below, you can identify the positive, negative and case pins. 

To make your life easier, "pre-tin" all three leads on the laser diode, and the positive and negative diode pads on the Lavadrive.  (see documentation or photos below) Carefully align the positive and negative pins and solder them to the corresponding pads on the flex drive. A Helping Hands  will definitely come in "handy" making this job easier.

Once you are satisfied with your work, and the driver board is SOLIDLY CONNECTED to both the positive and negative pins on the driver, and the PCB is relatively straight, connect the negative and case pins on the diode by creating a solder bridge between the NEGATIVE and the CASE PINs. (seen as the blue line in the photo above, and the close-up picture below)

Flexdrive Mounted.  Be very careful not to heat the diode for too long, you can damage it!

Close-up of the Negative and Case Pins bridged.  We create this bridge to use the HOST as the negative pathway, therefore we do not need to run any wiring!

Red line indicates cut line.  Notice the bent & pre-tinned tip of the spring, ready to be mounted.

Pic of the completed laser module with spring mounted.

Laser module mounted in heatsink

Heatsink + laser Module mounted in Head, resting on o-ring

Aligning spring with hole

Once it is together, turn it on by pressing the button on the tail -- if everything worked correctly you now are the proud owner of a HIGH POWERED BLU-RAY Laser.

With your new laser you probably want to test out a few things.. I would imagine that "burning" something is pretty high on that list. (or was that just me?)  Burning with your laser is accomplished by turning the focusing ring so that your laser is focused to a tiny dot.  This means that the focus at 1' would be completely different that at 5'.  Get out a roll of black electrical tape and practice (it starts smoking very easily) and work your way up to a book of matches.

If you get inconsistant results, you probably have a problem with your spring.  Problems could include: Binding and touching the heatsink thus shorting (remember, it is being used as a ground), or could still be too long, and pressing the heatsink away from the base.  The Base of the heatsink and the host base must stay in contact, as it is our negative path.  You can check to see if this is a problem by slightly pressing on the focus ring, if the laser lights consistantly when focus ring is pressed in, you need to shorten your spring.

If your laser simply does not light, you could have problems with your driver (check all solder joints), battery in backwards, or have damaged your laser diode.  (or press the on button =)

INTERESTING NOTES ABOUT YOUR NEW BLU-RAY LASER:
(Taken from Laser Pointer Forums FAQ)

The eye has trouble seeing 405nm light.  405nm is "Near Ultra Violet" light.  Blu-ray lasers are at the very edge of our eye's ability to see.  Older people have more trouble and glasses with UV coatings filter it.  Your eyes will get tired quickly when you first start using the blu-ray and the beam and dot may look "strange" to you.

The apparent brightness can vary from diode to diode.  All diodes vary the wavelength of light produced based in environmental factors (manufacturing differences, crystal differences, temperature, current, etc.).   The wavelength produced by a particular diode can vary by +-10nm.  The “405nm” is no different EXCEPT that these produce light in the near ultra violet range.  405nm is the “ideal” wavelength for the light produced.  However, +-10nm makes a big difference in how well the human eye can “see” this light.  
 
405nm – 10nm puts the wavelength into what most would consider ultra violet (395nm).  “Ultra” means “beyond.”  That refers to the fact that the light is beyond our eye’s ability to see it.  If the light from your particular diode is -10nm, it will be very hard to see indeed.
 
405nm + 10nm puts the wavelength at 415nm.  This puts the wavelength closer to blue.  Our eye can “see” blue better than violet.   If the light from your particular diode is +10nm, it will appear to be “brighter”, even if it is putting out lower mW. 

 The laser "looks" dimmer than you thought it would.  The beam and dot may appear to you to be very low powered -- until you hit something fluorescent with it!!!! However, shine it at a white shirt that has had "fabric softener" used on it.  The whole room will light up!  One of the cool things to do with the 405nm is to shine it on rocks, plants, and insects to see the different fluorescent colors out there.  This activity is when most people "burn up" their blu-rays.  It is very easy to lose track of time when one is "searching out" glowing things.

The beam isn't "round."  When looking at the unfocused beam, the spot will appear "flat", elongated, or oval.  This is normal.  The shape of the beam is an artifact of the construction of the crystal and the diode.  When you focus the beam the small dot will be a pinpoint.

The 405nm diode produces NO Infra-Red light.  The violet laser does not need an IR filter because it doesn't produce any IR light to be filtered.  IR filters are needed on DPSS (green, yellow, blue) lasers because the diode that is the "engine" behind the crystal action is an IR diode.  The 405nm diode is NOT an IR diode.  It doesn't need to be filtered.

Special Thanks:

• forum members at http://www.laserpointerforums.com, expecially daguin, Dark_Horse and sk8er4514
• DrLava
• HighTechDealz