I have been really interesting in setting up my own laser. I’d like to be 100% sure I know what to do and what I need in order to properly budget for my project.
I know I need things like a diode, heat sink, and lens. But I’m not sure what types of heat sinks-lenses to get.
For the diode I plan on getting a 5VDC 532nm 10mw laser.
To summarize I just need to know if what type of heat sink I get matters And if it dose what types of calculations do I need to do to figure it out. And just any general advice for a beginner.

 

You need laser safety goggles to work with a laser of that power. You will need to select ones that are correct for the wavelength and power. They'll be red, orange or brown tinted and you should be able to use some of the less expensive plastic ones.

 

The heatsink will need to be sized to match the input power to the laser, and the heat transfer surface will need to match the heat transfer surface of the laser assembly. Since you have not provided any more information that is the advice that I can provide.
And certainly you do need to take safety precautions.

 

Hello there. welcome to AAC! Color wavelength visible light
Red 700nm
Orange 610nm
Yellow 600nm
Green 550nm
Blue 500nm
Violet 400nm
I included orange to describe the change of color between yellow and red.
You have chosen 532 Nanometers
Per centimeters squared. That is
in-between green and blue.
Handle laser diodes with the same care as CMOS devices. They are Electro Static sensitive. Use only a grounded soldering iron when attaching wires to the laser diode terminals limit soldering duration to less than 5 seconds per terminal. Never connect the probes of a VOM
Volt OhmMeter across the terminals of the laser diode the current from the internal battery of the meter can damage the diode laser
Use silicone heat transfer paste to ensure a good thermal contact between the laser and the heat sink. The eye goggles one wears is dependent on the wavelength of the laser. Your laser is probably a Double Hererostructure laser diode with output power anywhere from 3 to 10 milliwatts.

 

Hello there. welcome to AAC!

Hello there. welcome to AAC! Color wavelength visible light
Red 700nm
Orange 610nm
Yellow 600nm
Green 550nm
Blue 500nm
Violet 400nm
I included orange to describe the change of color between yellow and red.
You have chosen 532 Nanometers
Per centimeters squared. That is
in-between green and blue.
Handle laser diodes with the same care as CMOS devices. They are Electro Static sensitive. Use only a grounded soldering iron when attaching wires to the laser diode terminals limit soldering duration to less than 5 seconds per terminal. Never connect the probes of a VOM
Volt OhmMeter across the terminals of the laser diode the current from the internal battery of the meter can damage the diode laser
Use silicone heat transfer paste to ensure a good thermal contact between the laser and the heat sink. The eye goggles one wears is dependent on the wavelength of the laser. Your laser is probably a Double Hererostructure laser diode with output power anywhere from 3 to 10 milliwatts.

Thank you for the advice it was very helpful. I knew lasers were sensitive with static shocks but I didn’t consider the soldering iron would need to be grounded. All the other information was also very helpful. Thanks.

 

If you have any other questions do not hesitate to ask! This is an entire community and we all love to pitch in. Good luck to you.

 

You have chosen 532 Nanometers
Per centimeters squared. That is

What has centimeters squared got to do with it?

 

What has centimeters squared got to do with it?

Hello there!
My gratitude, for catching my mistake. I did not wish to cause you or the thread starter any confusion. A very good question by the way .It's an old habit of mine when discussing lasers and coherent light power density is also involved .
All radiometers calculate based on a square centimeter detector so that there is some uniformity within the laser industry .Coherent light, like that from a laser, is focused to a 10 micrometer spot at the macula. In other words, the beam passing through the pupil is focused by the lens on a spot 100,000 times smaller at the macula. This is why a 1 milliwatt per centimeter squared laser beam entering the eye becomes 100 Watts per centimeter squared at the retina.