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THORLABS TLD001, Kinesis User Manual

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THORLABS TLD001 Kinesis User Manual Download Page 40

Page 37

17874-D03

T-Cube Laser Diode Driver

Chapter 6

Software Reference 

6.1

GUI Panel

The following screen shot shows the g raphical user interface (GUI) displayed when

accessing the driver using the Kinesis software.

Fig. 6.1   TLD001 Laser Diode Driver Software GUI

Note

.  The  serial  number  of th e  TLD001  unit associa ted  with th e  GUI  panel  is

displayed in the top right hand corner. This information should always be provided

when requesting customer support.

Laser Power display

 - shows the output power of the laser diode (P

LD

). 

Note

. The

maximum  value  is de pendent  upon  he pho todiode  current readi ng  (I

PD

),  the

photodiode current range, set by the rear panel micro switches (Section 3.3.7.), and

the Watts/Amp calibration factor, specified in the Settings panel (see Section 6.2.).

µW and dBm LEDs

 - lit when the associated display units are selected.

Laser Current display

 - shows the drive curren t applied to the la ser diode (I

LD

).

Note

. The maximum value available is dependent upon the laser diode drive current

limit, set via the Settings panel - see Section 3.3.6.

Set Button

  - used to adjust the laser current/power to a specific absolute value, as

set in the pop up window that appears when the button is clicked.

Step Buttons

 - used to adjust the output power or current of the laser diode up and

down in steps. The step size is set in the Step Window, displayed by clicking the step

arrow button.

Summary of Contents for TLD001

Page 1: ...HA0184T TLD001 Laser Diode Driver Kinesis User Guide Original Instructions ...

Page 2: ...nting Options 7 3 1 3 Removing the Baseplate 8 3 2 Rear Panel Connections Overview 9 3 2 1 Rear Panel Description 9 3 3 Power Supply Connection 9 3 3 1 Supply Voltage and Current Requirements 9 3 3 2 Connection To A Standalone Power Supply 10 3 3 3 Configuring The Unit to the Laser Diode 11 3 3 4 Laser Diode Polarity 11 3 3 5 Connecting the Photodiode with Bias 13 3 3 6 Laser Diode Drive Current L...

Page 3: ...ower Mode CONST P 29 Chaper 5 PC Operation Tutorial 30 5 1 Introduction 30 5 2 Install The Software 30 5 3 Set Up Preparation 31 5 4 Set Up Via The GUI Panel 32 5 5 Modulation of the Laser Diode Output 35 Chaper 6 Software Reference 37 6 1 GUI Panel 37 6 2 Settings Panel 39 6 2 1 Control Tab 40 6 2 2 Max Current Tab 42 6 2 3 Photodiode Tab 43 6 2 4 Advanced Tab 44 Appendices Appendix A Rear Panel ...

Page 4: ... the injection current or the optical output power of the laser diode For convenience the footprint of this unit has been kept to a minimum measuring only 120mm x 60mm x 47mm 4 8 x 2 4 x 1 8 and with the facility to directly mount to the optical table The manual controls for this unit are conve niently located on the upper surface The Mode and Display buttons allow the various operating modes to b...

Page 5: ...located on the upper surface to accept the Cubes Internally the Controller Hub contains a fully compliant USB 2 0 hub circuit to provide communications for all Cubes a single USB connection to the Controller Hub is all that is required for PC control The Controller Hub also provides power distribution for the Cubes requiring only a single power connection 1 3 Kinesis Software Overview 1 3 1 Introd...

Page 6: ... Controls are often referred to as client applications A Net Co ntrol is a language independent software component Consequently the controls can b e incorporated into a w ide range of software development environments for u se by client application developers Development environments supported include Visual Basic Labview Visual C C Builder HPVEE Matlab VB NET C NET and via VBA Microsoft Office ap...

Page 7: ...andbook for the associated controller Fig 1 2 System Architecture Diagram Refer to the main Kinesis Soft ware online help file for a co mplete programmers guide This is available either by pressing the F1 key when running the Kinesis server or via the Start menu Start Programs Thorlabs Kinesis Net API Help 1 3 3 Software Upgrades Thorlabs operate a policy of continuous product development and may ...

Page 8: ...g Risk of Electrical Shock Given when there is a risk of injury from electrical shock Warning Given when there is a risk of injury to users Caution Given when there is a risk of damage to the product Note Clarification of an instruction or additional information Warning If this equipment is used in a manner not specified by the manufacturer the protection provided by the equipment may be impaired ...

Page 9: ...diodes this product may be used to drive It is the users responsibility to ensure that the appropriate protection is used and that standard safety precautions observed The users attention is drawn to the following precautions Inappropriate use of any Laser product could result in permanent eye damage To prevent injury all personnel in the vi cinity of the laser driver should wear appropriate eye p...

Page 10: ... systems a USB controller hub is available see Section 1 2 for further details Full instructions o n the fitting and use o f the controller hub are contained in handbook for the product Warning Operation outside the foll owing environmental limits may ad versely affect operator safety Caution When siting the unit it should be positioned so as not to impede the operation of the control panel button...

Page 11: ...fitted or the unit is connected to the USB controller hub Fig 3 1 Removing The Baseplate 1 Using a hexagon key remove the bolts securing the unit to the baseplate Retain the bolts for future use if the baseplate is refitted 2 Turn the unit upside down 3 Remove the backing paper from the rubber feet supplied taking care not to touch the exposed adhesive surface 4 Position the feet as desi red then ...

Page 12: ...e can be turned on see Section 3 3 11 For pin out details see Appendix A 2 MOD IN SMA connector Modulation or analog control input 10V to 10V see Section 5 5 3 3 Power Supply Connection 3 3 1 Supply Voltage and Current Requirements Note Thorlabs supply a variety of SMA to BNC and SMC to BNC adaptor and extension cables Please see our catalog or visit www thorlabs com for further details Warning Ex...

Page 13: ...wer supply unit TPS002 allowing up to two Laser Diode driver T Cubes to be powered from a single mains outlet However if an external supply is to be used see Appendix A 1 for power supply connector pin out details Warning The unit must be connected only to a DC supply as detailed in Section 3 3 1 Connection to a supply of a different rating may cause damage to the unit and could result in injury t...

Page 14: ...ly one terminal of the laser diode is connected to the metal case and commoned with either the anode and cathode of the photodiode The TLD001 has been designed to drive all the possible configurations but care is needed to ensure that the l aser diode is connected to the controller correctly Although the TLD001 provides some protection against some common wiring errors some faults such as accident...

Page 15: ...photodiode connections The polarity of the laser diode may be set via the top panel buttons see Section 4 4 or through the GUI settings panel see Section 5 4 Note In this case the ground connection pin 3 may be connected to the anode pin 8 or the cathode pin 7 of the laser diode and to the anode pin 4 or the cathode pin 2 of the photodiode In order to prevent measuring errors this connection shoul...

Page 16: ...t under any operating conditions ensures that the laser diode cannot be damaged by accidental overdriving Individual laser diodes show a very large production spread and the maximum current that a given device can be operated at varies from device to device From an electrical point of view laser diodes are similar to LEDs in that both devices are semi conductor diodes that emit light However while...

Page 17: ...eir rated maximum output power Generally unless the electrical parameters of the givenlaser diode are already known i e the diode has been characterized the drive current limit must be d erived by experiment This involves connecting an optical power meter to the laser diode and continually monitoring the optical power whilst gradually increasing the drive current taking care to stay within the max...

Page 18: ...ANGE switches on the rear panel can simply be set to the correct range If the photocurrent value is not known then the procedure involves switching the TLD001 into a special PD RANGE adjustment mode and trying all ranges from 10mA downwards The unit will indicate whether a given range is too high too low or correct see Section 4 4 or Section 5 4 3 3 8 Optimization of the PD Current Gain Optimizati...

Page 19: ...button is pressed the system adjusts the photodiode TIA gain to 0 2 V µA so that the photodiode amplifier outputs 5 Volts In another setup the photodiode produces a different current for max optical power so a different photodiode amplifier gain is required For convenience it is preferable to initiate the optimization process from the GUI Settings panel because this is more visually intuitive see ...

Page 20: ...en its anode or cathode must also be connected to ground In most cases if the laser diode is supplied in a package with a built in photodiode one of the photodiode terminals will be connected to the case This configuration is dictated by the package You must not use a floating photodiode Either the anode or cathode must be connected to the system ground 2 The displayed power is derived from the Ph...

Page 21: ...witch e g an open door indicator which must be closed before the unit can operate In this case the resistance of the connection must be 430Ω The interlock input alsodoubles up as an external Laser On LED driver output For visual indication of the laser operating it is possible to connect an LED to the interlock input If this option is required any standard LED can be used that has a forward voltag...

Page 22: ...Laser Diode Driver Caution The interlock lines can be pe rmanently shorted if no interlock function is required see Fig 3 9 This option should be used ONLY if there is no possible safety hazard associated with using the product ...

Page 23: ...iode drive current in mA Note The maximum value available is dependent upon the laser diode drive current limit see Section 3 3 6 and Section 4 4 P LD the laser diode optical output power in mW Note The maximum value is dependent upon the photodiode current range IPD set by the rear panel micro switches Section 3 3 7 and the power display calibration setting see Section 4 4 I PD photo diode curren...

Page 24: ...onnected to the rear panel D Type connector with the correct polarity refer to Section 3 3 4 for more details A power meter and suitable detector head are also required 1 Insert the laser diode into the diode mount taking care to observe the correct orientation 2 Set the switches on the diode mount to select the correct polarity AG or CG for the diode being used 3 Using cable CAB400 connect the di...

Page 25: ...utton until the ILIM LED is lit and turn the KEYSWITCH to OFF Press and hold the MODE button for more than 3 seconds The display shows CONF to i ndicate that the unit is in configuration mode Press the D ISPLAY button to access the Laser Polarity parameter Laser Diode Polarity This parameter allows the polarity of the laser diode to be set see Section 3 3 4 Press the MODE button to edit this param...

Page 26: ...on Turn the OUTPUT knob to set the max laser current value for the laser diode being driven If this value is not known turn the OUTPUT kno b until the power displayed on the power meter is at the required level Take extreme care never to exceed the maximum power level specified in the data sheet and take into account the possible thermal effects described in Section 3 3 6 It is highly recommended ...

Page 27: ...ositio n and pressing the LASER ON button In either case the laser will be ope rated at the maximum current setting Initially always set the PD RANGE switches to the 10 mA range all switches must be in the upwards ON position Note that the during the adjustment IPD LED is lit to indicate that photodiode current is being displayed Adjust the PD RANGE microswitches on the rear panel until Pdr is dis...

Page 28: ... unit Press the MODE bu tton to perform the optimization or press the DISPLAY button to skip to the next parameter When the MODE button is pressed the display shows Pd oP and a dot flashes to indicate that the optimization sequence is in progress Once optimization is complete the display shows the photocurrent Press the DISPLAY button to access th e Laser Powe r parameter Continued on next page ...

Page 29: ...wer meter Ignore the decimal point and the u sign for now this will be set in the next step The value displayed can be changed between 1 000 and 9 999 For example if the power meter shows 5 mW set the display to 5 000u Now press the MODE button to set the range The decimal point moves to the right with each press and the µ sign disappears when the mW range is selected After the highest range is re...

Page 30: ...e display brightness also changes accordingly When the desired brightness is found stop Press the DISPLAY bu tton to re turn to the start of the configuration menu Press the DISPLAY button to repeat the cycle or press and hold the MODE button for more than 3 seconds to return to the normal operating mode When the unit returns to the normal operating mode the setup is automatically saved into non v...

Page 31: ...put Potentiometer Operation The OUTPUT potentiometer is an infinite turn encoder used to adjust the output of the laser diode To increase the output turn the potentiometer clockwise once the maximum output is attained subsequent clockwise turns have no effect however the output decreases immediately the control is turned anticlockwise Similarly once the output has been decreased to zero subsequent...

Page 32: ...001 unit in order to monitor and correct the power output In constant power mode the feedback loop inside the TLD001 attempts to maintain constant optical power by continuously monitoring the photocurrent and if necessary adjusting the output current to maintain the same photocurrent As the photocurrent is proportional to the optical power the scheme en sures that the op tical power remains stable...

Page 33: ... screen instructions Note When operating via a PC direct user interaction with the laser diode driver is accomplished through intuitive graphical user interface panels GUIs which expose all key operating parameters and modes The user can select multiple panel views displaying different information about a particular hardware unit The multitasking architecture ensures that the graphical control pan...

Page 34: ...ount taking care to observe the correct orientation 2 Set the switches on the diode mount to select the correct polarity AG or CG for the diode being used 3 Using cable CAB400 connect the diode mount to the TLD001 unit 4 Connect the TLD001 to the power supply 5 Connect the power meter sensor to the diode mount 6 Ensure that the KEYSWITCH on the TLD001 is set to OFF then turn on the power to all un...

Page 35: ...in Section 3 3 4 the TLD001 laser diode driver supports all possible polarities of laser diode and the correct polarity must be set before a diode is powered up 1 Make connections and run the KinesisKinesis software as described in Section 5 3 2 On the GUI panel click the Settings button to display the Laser Driver Settings panel then select the Control tab Fig 5 2 Laser Driver Settings Panel Phot...

Page 36: ...aser diode adjustment needs to be done with the laser diode enabled turn the KEYSWITCH to ON onthe module front panel and tick the Adjust with Output On box on the GUI Click th e arrows to slowly increase the drive current until the power displayed on the power meter reaches the desired value Take extreme care never to exceed the maximum power level specified in the data sheet and take into accoun...

Page 37: ...e 10mA range and check whether the In Range LED on the settings panel is lit 13 If not select the each range in turn from 10 mA down to 10 uA until the In Range LED is lit It is important to change ranges in decrea sing order otherwise the display may be incorrect Photodiode Gain Optimization As previously explained in Section 3 3 8 in order for the laser power display to be accurate the photodiod...

Page 38: ...ck OK 5 5 Modulation of the Laser Diode Output It is possible that an application may demand a time dependent laser current ILD or photodiode current IPD instead of the normal constant output This is achieved by connecting a modulating signal to the rear panel MOD IN connector The voltage range is 10V to 10V input resistance is 10kΩ The external input is always scaled so that 0 to 10V is equivalen...

Page 39: ...r Settings Advanced Tab 5 Click the Persist Settings to Hardware box then click OK 6 Switch on the modulation source 7 The diode current or power can be monitored on the d isplay by sel ecting the various display modes see Section 4 1 8 During operation if the current ILD reaches the limit set ILIM then the I LIM LED flashes and the current is limited to the I LIM value ...

Page 40: ...nt readi ng IPD the photodiode current range set by the rear panel micro switches Section 3 3 7 and the Watts Amp calibration factor specified in the Settings panel see Section 6 2 µW and dBm LEDs lit when the associated display units are selected Laser Current display shows the drive curren t applied to the la ser diode ILD Note The maximum value available is dependent upon the laser diode drive ...

Page 41: ... com for more details Constant Power Mode CONST P is use d to mini mize the o utput power fluctuations described above This involves a signal from the internal photodiode integrated into most laser diode packages being fed back to the TLD001 unit in order to monitor and correct the power output This feedback loop attempts to maintain constant optical power by continuously monitoring the pho tocurr...

Page 42: ...hows present values of the following user specified settings Max Laser Current the maximum current limit of the laser diode being driven see Section 5 4 or Section 4 4 Polarity the polarity of the lase r diode either Anode Grounded or Cathode Grounded TIA Range the photo diode current limit set via the rear panel PD RANGE microswitches Section 3 8 Step Size the step size used when the Step buttons...

Page 43: ... or µW or Photodiode Current IPD in mA or µA W A Calibration Factor Ea ch laser dio de has speci fic relationship between the output power and the photodiode current This parameter sets the calibration factor for converting between these two values The calibration factor can be set between 0 00001 and 10 000 For example if set to 10 a photodiode current of 1mA produces an output power of 10mW Note...

Page 44: ...t this and disable the output the momentary reverse p olarity can still damage the d iode by reverse breakdown Control Settings The settings determine the ste p size us ed when the lase r output is increased or decreased using the GUI The Open Loop Step Size is set inthe range 0 01 to 10 mA while the Closed Loop Step Size is set in the range 0 1 to 100 µW Persist Settings to Hardware The settings ...

Page 45: ...ring operation if the laser current reaches the limit set the ILIM LED flashes Caution If these arrows are pressed and held this will cause an accelerated value change This could damage the laser diode if the current is increased with the output on see below Adjust with Output On Check this box to allow the Current limit to be adjusted while the output is on Note The maximum laser diode current ca...

Page 46: ...oto diode The PD RANGE microswitches on the rear panel should be adjusted such that the green In Range LED is lit see Section 3 8 for more information Optimize Amplifier Gain Click this button to optimize the gain of the TIA see Section 3 3 8 Persist Settings to Hardware To save the settings to hardware check the Persist Settings to Hardware checkbox before clicking the OK button Note Before any a...

Page 47: ...tware commands a nd the output to the laser is that se t using the SetPowerSetpoint method or the OUTPUT control on the GUI panel If External SMA is selected the unit responds to the analog signal on the rear panel EXT IN SMC connector 0 to 10V If Potentiometer is selected the output to the laser is the value set using the top panel OUTPUT potentiometer Display Intensity determines the brightness ...

Page 48: ...ied even momentarily can re sult in the sensitive electronic components inside the cube getting damaged invalidating warranty The cube uses a standard mini DIN type of input connector the corresponding plug is available from most standard electronics suppliers Fig A 1 shows the mini DIN socket as viewed by looking at the rear panel of the cube The pin numbering follows the standard for mini DIN co...

Page 49: ...e turned on see Section 3 3 11 The pin functions are detailed in Fig A 2 Notes Polarity Anode Grounded AG Polarity Cathode Grounded CG The Interlock Pin 1 must be shorted to the Ground pin 5 before the laser can be enabled see Section 3 3 11 Fig A 2 LD OUT connector pin identification Pin Description Return Pin Description Return 1 Interlock 5 6 Not used 2 Photodiode Cathode 7 Laser Diode Cathode ...

Page 50: ... equipment is operated with the covers removed Only personnel authorized by Thorlabs Ltd and trained in the maintenance of this eq uipment should remove its covers or attempt any repairs or adjustments Maintenance is limited to safety testing and cleaning as described in the following sections Warning Disconnect the power supply before cleaning the unit Never allow water to get inside the case Do ...

Page 51: ...Drift 70ppm C typical LD Current Noise 3µA rms typical Supported LD PD Configurations All LD Protection Relay Open Circuit Under over Voltage Operating Modes Constant Current Constant Power Modulation Input SMA 0 to 10V 0 to Full Power DC or Sine Wave Input Only Modulation Bandwidth 20kHz Full Depth Power Input 15V 15V 5V Housing Dimensions W x D x H 120 x 60 x 47mm 4 8 x 2 4 x 1 8 Weight 160g 5 5...

Page 52: ... harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual may cause ha rmful interference to rad io communications Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be ...

Page 53: ...Rev A Nov 2017 Appendix D Regulatory Page 50 D 2 CE Certificate ...

Page 54: ...orlabs for more information Waste treatment is your own responsibility End of life units must be returned to Thorlabs or handed to a company specializing in waste recovery Do not dispose of the unit in a litter bin or at a public waste disposal site For technical support or sales inquiries please visit us at www thorlabs com contact for our most up to date contact information USA Canada and South ...

Page 55: ...www thorlabs com ...

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