Infrared Laser Diode

Get an old CDROM drive off the rubbish tip. There are designs for laser driver circuits on the net. You might have trouble with the gratings that are usually bonded to the front of the diode package. You could probably crack that off but then moisture could get in since the hermetic seal is broken. It depends what you want it for as to whether it is suitable. Some newer CD rewriters have quite powerful diodes (100mW or more), but the optics in older drives are nicer because it is less specialised and therefore more likely to be useful for things other than reading CDs. Of course be careful not to damage anyone's eyes especially with rewriters.