high power laser diode array

[nattayb]

hi everyone i was looking around ebay the other day and saw several 30w laser diodes, what would stop me from making a circuit to regulate overflow of current and anything to damage it and then discharge the correct capacitor with close to maximum power through it? As to deliver maybe a 1 second pulse with a peak current right below the maximum current for the laser. wouldnt this alleviate the need to have a massive heat sink and such.

Thanks in advanced

 

[Bluefan]

Can be done, but forget large caps, you'd need a huge collection of huge caps for that. Just build a full size driver and drive the diode pulsed, just like you say a second or so on the normal operation current.
A cheap CPU cooler and cheap tec ($10 or so) greatly improve cooling. If you have a 30W diode, the cooling will just be a cheap part of the setup and make it possible to use the diode at it's full capacity.

 

[billg519]

For 30W, make sure that you have the correct certified high quality laser goggles and are wearing them everytime you use the laser. 30W can blind instantly.