100Mcd LEP - Laser Phosphor Wheel

This is amazing!


I had some minor setbacks and software updates.
I also had to move houses, but now we are near the end!
There are zero signs of thermal problems and I seem to have a huge safety margin :person_facepalming: . I guess better safe than sorry.
I plan to overdrive the laser diodes pretty high.

Before I began moving, I was able to get some quick cellphone beamshots around 70% rated power


About 1500ft (450meters) away

If you look carefully at the 1st picture, the beam on the bottom is my Convoy L2 with a collar at around 700kcd.
Here are some pics of it for reference



I’m not happy with the spill. The phosphor wheel itself projects a huge image as spill. Otherwise the spill isnt bad at all. I will need to shroud the phosphor wheel except for the spot where the laser touches to reduce the spill effect.

Totally agree on lasers. Super fun hobby as long as you always wear wraparound goggles that are rated for power you’re using (even if you’re just putting the batteries in…) and don’t point it at a person, an animal or a vehicle. I have a 6 watt blue that’s awesome for wood burning and lighting stuff on fire

So what’s your lumen output and Mcd? I’m fascinated by your project. Hopefully your next light will be 1 gigalumen and the size of a garbage can (:

Incredible project! Do you have any documentation on what it took to make that L2?

This project is absolutely AMAZING!

Keep up your good work and good luck with the fine tuning and finishing touches.

Is the output from the array of diodes producing a spot which hits the whole ring of phosphor at once with a lot of over and undershoot, or is it focused down to a single spot upon the ring of phosphor which due to being spun keeps the phosphor from burning?

The output of the multimode diodes in that block cannot be focused down as tightly as the output from single mode diodes, would their use in this project in the shape of a ring to match the ring of phosphor on that wheel with individually focusable beams produce a more uniform output of white light, but at far lower output power because single mode diodes cannot produce nearly as much power?

What I want to use for my project:

This diode is multimode, not single mode. There is another diode I might use which is single mode which can be focused to a extremely small spot, but I wouldn't push it to more than 700 mw output, they die too fast otherwise.

These phosphor wheels, link below, appear to be most efficient when used with a 405-410 nm laser diode: 10x Laser Phosphor Color Wheels - UV / Black Light Reactive - Yellow Phosphorous | eBay

The 1.5 watt output 405 nm multimode diode I am considering: Sharp GH04W10A2GC https://www.ebay.com/itm/253990238593

I thought the whole point of the ring was you focus a single laser onto a single spot on the ring. Then the ring rotates at very high speed. This rotation prevents the laser from dwelling on any single point on the ring long enough to burn through the phosphor.

The net result should be a much more intense point light source than you could make with a traditional LEP without the ring. Arranging a bunch of lasers into a donut shape to hit every point on the ring simultaneously sounds like it would defeat the entire purpose of using a rotating ring.

I'm thinking the ring being spun is to keep from burning the phosphor too, so that must mean he is putting a single spot on the ring and spinning it. However, being his original plan was to use a single target, and perhaps the optics were built for that target of phosphor in the middle, changing out to the wheel might be a compromise and indeed the whole wheel is illuminated but spun to keep it cooler due to the fins on the back side?

For my project, I might use eight diodes in the shape of a ring focused down as tightly as I can get them without burning the phosphor, they would be spaced out enough to help spread the heat produced by them (spun to spread the heat out too), plus my 405 nm multimode diodes are only 1.5 watts output each, but what I am concerned about is due to the smaller spot they can produce when focused down to a point, would the power density burn the phosphor, even if being spun? (Edit: They won't, if spun, but will if stationary, I found out today).

I believe my project could be built into a Fenix LR80R flashlight as a donor to build the host for this, which I have. Using that flashlight to build this into, I expect I could build a LEP which produces about 1500 or more lumen using eight of the near-UV laser diodes I already have a load of to work with (410-411 nm at 1.5 watts output, each), I might be able to fit twelve diodes into that flashlight. Using diodes at 410 nm, whether multimode or single mode at that wavelength, I expect the beam divergence to be much tighter than can be achieved using 455 nm multimode laser diodes, but only if matched with the right phosphor which can efficiently convert 405-411 nm into broader spectrum longer wavelength light.

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Link to lots of the 1.5 watt 405 nm diodes cheap: https://www.ebay.com/itm/284649555870 - These are 405 nm which produce 410-411 nm when pushed to 1.5 watts output each, for longer life, limit the output to 1 watt or less.

Here's a link to a single mode laser diode which could be used for my project with this particular wheel to produce lots of white output:

BDR-209 16X 405nm Blu-Ray Laser Diode https://www.ebay.com/itm/183662422910 - This diode can be pushed to 900 mw output but they die fast, in just a few hours of use at that output. Best to set these at 700 mw or less output, even better 500 mw. This diode can be focused to an insanely small spot, might burn the phosphor if focused too tightly onto it.

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I'm not going to post more about my project in this thread, I came to see if I can get some questions answered and to share some ideas. I'm basing my assumptions for my own build off of what I'm being told by another member here that the smaller the dot or spot of light upon the phosphor, the tighter the beam output, if that isn't the case, not sure what I can produce with these diodes. I'm less than a novice when it comes to LEP flashlights, have a lot of learn.

Any updates here?

Phosphor wheel will only be any good with a lens. He ended up buying modules and lenses from here.
http://www.bl-light.com/laserengine.html

Could you explain that in a bit more detail? Why did he stop posting here?

I had a bit of a dummy spit, he asked me for in-depth information about how the W30 was made, I posted details, measurements, photos, for him. When I asked for information about where the bluelake modules he had came from he refused to tell me. That was when I realised he didn’t build the light he paid someone else to build it.
I am hoping that now people know where to get the modules we see some crazy throwers.

Ok, interesting. Thanks for the link! I think I have seen modules form their company on ebay.

But why did he need those modules? His pictures seem to show a working light. Why don’t phosphor wheels work with reflectors?

My opinion and I could be wrong. For it to work the light has to pass through an aperture. I think not only does a recycling collar recycle the light it also gives you an aperture to block stray light. With a reflector there is no way of blocking unwanted light so the phosphor wheel will be projected into the beam. Elipsoidal reflector spotlights use an aperture as does the megaray. That is how they get a hot spot with crisp edges.
Some of the things Bluelake has done reinforces my opinion. I am more than happy to be proven wrong.