Laser Diode Instrumentation Guide

Newport and ILX Lightwave Offer the Widest Range of High Quality Precision Laser Diode Control Instrumentation Available

Laser Diode Instrumentation is used to precisely control a laser diodes optical output, while protecting the laser diode from thermal or electrical damage while operating. We offer a wide variety of Laser Diode Mounts and fixtures for mounting your diode that are compatible with our laser diode drivers and controllers. We also offer accessories and cables with standard compatibility with our instruments and mounts.

Types of Laser Diode Instruments

Laser Diode Instruments can be broken into five categories. Laser Diode Drivers are used to control the current supplied to a laser diode. Laser Diode Temperature Controllers are used to control a thermoelectric cooler (TEC), that is either imbedded in the laser diode package or is integrated into the laser diode mount. Laser Diode Controllers include both a laser diode driver and a laser diode temperature controller in a single device. Pulsed Laser Diode Drivers are used to modulate a laser diode by pulsing it's driver current. Modular Laser Diode Controllers are multi-channel instruments that can be configured with a laser diode driver, temperature control modules, or combo laser diode driver and temperature controller modules. Newport also offers a variety of Laser Diode Control Kits which contain all the necessary current and temperature controllers as well as cables and mounting accessories needed in one convenient package. For volume testing of laser diodes we offer Laser Diode Burn-in Racks. For high power laser diode, bars, and stacks we offer High Power Laser Diode Instrumentation.

Laser Diode Drivers

Model	Max. Current / Compliance Voltage	Best Output Noise	Modulation	Remote Interface	Laser Diode Protection
LDX-3200 Series	4000 mA / 15 V	< 2 µA rms	up to 250 kHz	GPIB	Most advanced laser diode protection High speed intermittent contact protection Overvoltage protection Independent hardware and firmware current limits Slow start turn-on Shorting relays Transient protection
LDX-3500B Series	6000 mA / 7 V	< 2 µA rms	up to 500 kHz	USB	Independent hardware and firmware current limits Intermittent contact protection Slow start turn-on Shorting relays Transient protection Isolated transformers
LDX-3412	200 mA / 6 V	< 2 µA rms	Not available	Not available	Independent hardware and firmware current limits Intermittent contact protection Slow start turn-on Shorting relays Transient protection Isolated transformers
LDX-3620B	500 mA / 5 V	< 70 nA rms	up to 1000 kHz	Not available	Independent hardware and firmware current limits Intermittent contact protection Slow start turn-on Shorting relays Transient protection

Combination Laser Diode Controllers

Integrated precision laser diode driver and high stability temperature controller

Model	Maximum Laser Current / TEC Power	Best Current Output Noise	Temperature Stability	Remote Interface	Laser Diode Protection
LDC-37X6 Laser Driver and Temperature Controllers	20000 mA / 128 W	< 10 µA rms	±0.002°C or better short-term (1 hour) ±0.003°C or better long-term (24 hour)	USB and GPIB	Most advanced laser diode protection High speed intermittent contact protection Overvoltage protection Independent hardware and firmware current limits Slow start turn-on Shorting relays Transient protection Isolated transformers
LDC-3700C Series	4000 mA / 32 W	< 2 µA rms	0.004°C or greater short-term (1 hour) 0.01°C or greater long-term (24 hour)	USB and GPIB	Most advanced laser diode protection High speed intermittent contact protection Overvoltage protection Independent hardware and firmware current limits Slow start turn-on Shorting relays Transient protection Isolated transformers
6100 Series	1500 mA / 32 W	< 1.2 µA rms	0.0009°C or greater short-term (1 hour) 0.003°C or greater long-term (24 hour)	USB	Firmware current limit Slow start turn-on Intermittent contact protection Overvoltage protection Shorting relays Transient protection Isolated transformers

High-Power Laser Diode Drivers

	Model	Maximum Current / Compliance Voltage	Modulation	Remote Interface	Laser Diode Protection
	LDX-36000 Series	125 A (CW) / 35 V 220 A (QCW) / 35 V	QCW operation up to 1000 Hz	GPIB	Most advanced laser diode protection High speed intermittent contact protection Overvoltage protection Independent hardware and firmware current limits Slow start turn-on Shorting relays Transient protection Isolated transformers

Pulsed Diode Drivers

Model	Maximum Current / Compliance Voltage	Maximum Duty Cycle	Pulse Width Range	Remote Interface
LDP-3830	5000 mA / 20 V	5%	25 ns to 1µs	USB and GPIB
LDP-3840B	3000 mA / 10 V	10%	100 ns to 10 ms	GPIB
LDP-3811 Series	500 mA / 25 V	100%	0.1 µs to 1000 µs	GPIB

Thermoelectric Temperature Controllers

Model	Maximum Power	Temperature Range	Temperature Stability	Control Algorithm	Remote Interface
3700 Series	336 W	-100°C to 250°C	0.0009°C or greater short-term (1 hour) 0.0019°C or greater long-term (24 hour)	Fully programmable digital PID control loop	USB
LDT-5900 Series	120 W	-50°C to 250°C	0.005°C or greater long-term (24 hour)	Fully programmable digital PID control loop	GPIB and RS-232
LDT-5900C Series	60 W	-100°C to 200°C	0.001°C or greater short-term (1 hour) 0.002°C or greater long-term (24 hour)	Fully programmable digital PID control loop	USB and GPIB
LDT-5500B Series	50 W	-99°C to 199.9°C	0.001°C or greater long-term (24 hour) 0.002°C or greater long-term (24 hour)	Smart Integrator, Hybrid PI	USB
LDT-5416 Series	16 W	0°C to 199.9°C	0.005°C or greater short-term (1 hour) 0.01°C or greater long-term (24 hour)	Smart Integrator, Hybrid PI	Not available

Modular Laser Diode Controllers

	Model	# of Channels	Maximum Current / Compliance Voltage	Maximum TEC Power	Temperature Stability	Remote Interface
	LDC-3908 Series	8 independent channels with up to 16 isolated outputs	3000 mA / 6 V	24 W	-99.9°C to 199.9°C	GPIB and RS-232
	LDC-3916 Series	16 independent channels with up to 32 isolated outputs	3000 mA / 6 V	24 W	-99.9°C to 199.9°C	GPIB and RS-232

Laser Diode Modules

Newport does not fabricate laser diodes but carries a number of TO-Can, and pigtailed laser diodes with a variety of wavelengths so that the customers do not have to shop around multiple vendors.

	Model	Features & Benefits
	Laser Diode, TO-56/9, Blue, Visible, Infrared	500 / 1500 mA laser drive current, 10 V compliance voltage 4A / 8V low noise, bipolar output for TEC Ultra stable 24 hour temperature drift <0.003°C Impressive LIV and temperature tuning software suite included
	Fiber Pigtailed Laser Diodes	Center wavelengths ranging from 635–1550 nm Single and multimode light output Fully compatible with Newport’s 700P laser diode mount Fiber pigtails supplied with FC/PC connectors