What is the Difference between Laser Diode & Laser Module?

Strictly speaking, they are not completely different things that are absolutely opposite. A laser diode can be regarded as the heart of a laser module. They serve different purposes in various applications.

Professional Manufacturer of Laser Diode Module(Laser Module) : Dongguan Blueuniverse Laser Co., Ltd.

Firstly, let's check the definition of them:

    A laser diode (LD), or diode laser, essentially, is a semiconductor diode where a diode is directly pumped with electrical current can create lasing conditions at the diode's junction. They can directly convert electrical energy into light. Driven by voltage, the doped p-n-transition allows for the recombination of an electron with a hole. Due to the drop of the electron from a higher energy level to a lower one, radiation, in the form of an emitted photon, is generated. This is a spontaneous emission. Stimulated emission can be produced when the process is continued and further generates light with the same phase, coherence, and wavelength. Laser diodes include single heterojunction (SH), double heterojunction (DH), and quantum well (QW) laser diodes.

   Laser Module ( here refer to laser diode module ) is a kind of device that uses certain semiconductor material as a working material to produce a laser. It includes a Laser diode, some optics, a cooling device, and some possible electrical elements, etc.

As for the difference, generally speaking, a laser diode is a device that produces or generates a laser, like a source, while a laser module is a device that emits a laser. The laser diode needs to be installed in the laser module in order to emit laser. For appearance, laser modules are more like a full device, while laser diodes are like a small electronic component with different packaging forms, including to package, butterfly package, and  14 pins. In essence, a laser diode is a semiconductor device, and the laser can be a gas laser, a liquid laser, or a solid-state laser. Besides the laser diode, a laser module also includes:

Lens: to focus or expand the beam. (BU-Laser uses Optical Glass Lens with high stability and long life span＞10,000hours)

DOE: to change the beam of the laser to a pattern（BU-Laser offers violet， blue, green, yellow, red, IR, and white laser colors for a customizable pattern）

Driver： to protect the laser diode from working stably with constant current/voltage.

Usage: higher mechanical strength, easy to install, anti-interference, and protects the core components from being damaged.

  From the above explanation, we can see that LD is an essential part of laser modules; only good LDs can help to manufacture good modules. BU-laser uses brand new imported Laser Diodes in order to maintain the high performance of our modules. The case materials can be copper, aluminum, or stainless steel, all with surface treatment, APC drive circuit, what’s more, all the products are under 100% Full inspection (From materials, semi-finished products, finished product to delivery) and 12 months warranty. 

BU-LASER provides laser modules with multiple specification choices(output power, beam divergence, beam size, working distance, and dimension) better meet customers’ needs of accurate laser positioning/locating/orientating. To know more, please contact us at song@bu-laser.com.