The Design and Experimental Realization of a Laser-Based Heating System Using Recycled Laser Module

Laser is a powerful device that has a wide range of applications in fields ranging from materials science and manufacturing to medicine and fibre optic communications. One remarkable application is laser heating, which is based on the precise energy delivery of laser radiation to raise the temperature of specific materials or spots in a structure composed of different materials. In this paper, we simulate and experimentally verify the heat effects on different materials excited by a recycled and portable continuous wave 635 nm semiconductor laser diode module. The laser heating simulation was conducted utilizing COMSOL Multiphysics and the outcomes were presented in a visual format representing the thermal distribution after applying the laser to six different materials. In the experimental study, the laser diode was controlled by a graphical user interface (GUI) designed in LabVIEW interfaced with an Arduino Uno microcontroller. The recycled laser diode module was extracted from old DVD writers and electrically excited by a direct current to 600 mW electrical power which corresponds to 50 mW optical power. We simulated the laser’s control and driver circuit with Tinkercad software, while thermal measurements were taken using a heat sensor module (MLX90614) interfaced with an Arduino Uno. The recycling of DVD laser modules offers cost-effective implementation. Moreover, the proposed laser system’s compact size results in a portable heater device, which is particularly beneficial in space-constrained or mobile applications.