High power laser diode driver based on power converter technology

This paper describes the design of a high speed semiconductor laser diode driver designed for driving 500 mW to 1.5 W diodes at full optical power modulation up to frequencies of 10 MHz. The duty cycle of the modulation may be varied. A switching power-converter based current source allows a higher power delivery efficiency to the diode than in previous designs, allowing for a more modest power supply and dissipation requirements. A dynamic ripple cancellation circuit reduces the power converter output current ripple to less than 1% of full-scale current. The circuit is capable of delivering up to 2.5 A to a laser load, with a 10-90% switching risetime from laser threshold to full on of less than 20 ns.