Pulse News from OptiSwitch

  
January 2010
Welcome to Pulse News, a quarterly newsletter from OptiSwitch Technology Corporation exploring industry relevant topics and notifying our customers and colleagues about new product releases, events, etc.

The Quest for Accurate Current Sensing

Measuring the light output of a pulsed laser diode is not the best indication of the magnitude, temporal shape, and direction of the current flowing through the device. Voltage/current reversal, which can damage a laser diode, will not be visible on the output signal of a photodetector. Buyers should beware when a manufacturer of pulsed laser diode drivers shows only a photodetector output on a datasheet. This most likely indicates that the driver does not include an accurate current sensing circuit or has overshoot during turn-on or shut-off.

One option for the user is to measure the current through the laser diode with a high quality current monitor (transformer) such as ones manufactured by Pearson Electronics. These monitors require one of the output leads of the driver to be looped through the monitor. If the extra inductance added by this connection (plus the load inductance) is less than the internal inductance of the driver then minimal pulse distortion will occur; however, for short pulse, low output inductance drivers, this added inductance could greatly distort the waveform and in fact might cause the current to reverse during shut-off. In this scenario, an attempt to measure the current results in more trouble than the benefit is worth.

Click Here To Read The Full Article

  

Upcoming Events


Meet us at Photonics West this January 25-28 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. OptiSwitch will be exhibiting at Booth #4526 - stop by for a demo of our newest products and view and discuss our complete line of pulsed laser diode drivers.

Visit OptiSwitch at the Optics & Photonics Congress 2010 - Lasers, Sources and Related Photonic Devices at the Westin Hotel in San Diego. We will showcase our latest products at the exhibition that runs from February 1-3.


Check Our New Website

OptiSwitch.com has a new look and feel. See what’s new. Find us on FaceBook and Linked In. Coming soon: video user manuals on YouTube.

Announcing Two New Pulsed Laser Diode Drivers

PLDD-300-1-20
A new 300 amp ultra-miniature, short pulse diode driver that measures 0.75" x 2.69" x 0.35" and weighs only 12 grams.
   OptiSwitch Technology Corporation is proud to announce the availability of two new ultra compact pulsed laser diode drivers for man-portable target designation, rangefinding, illumination, and remote sensing: the PLDD-200-1-1 and the PLDD-300-1-20. Click the link below for more details...

PLDD-200-1-1 Product Page

PLDD-300-1-20 Product Page

About OTC

OptiSwitch Technology Corporation (OTC) was founded in 1999 and is a high technology innovator located in San Diego CA, specializing in ultra-compact, ultra-lightweight and highly reliable pulsed diode & pulsed power systems. These systems range from pulsed laser diode drivers for man portable and airborne applications, to high power (10kV, 100kA) semiconductor switches for replacing spark gaps as means to achieve highly reliable pulsed power products. These switches are an enabling technology for pulsed electric field (PEF) systems with applications in the biofuels area.