laser diode

Hi ,

I have just taken out a three pin laser diode from a old Asus CD ROM drive , model no:CD-S500/A . I have tried applying +5.0V across its terminals , but i dont see any light coming out of it .

Any clue how to used it , or have i already blown it ?

i forgot to mention its has three pins , one is clearly connected to its body , i can only guess what the other two are for .
So applying 5v might have blown it ???

With no series resistor, you likely blew it.

It might be IR and you will never see light.

Put a 10R resistor in series and look at via a digital camera

how did you identify which of the pins is for the laser diode ?

A 3-pin laser diode is equipped with a monitor diode which "tells" the control circuit to increase or decrease current through the laser diode.

Connecting the laser diode directly to 5V you might as well look for another CD-burner to salvage a new one.

Boncuk