Designed to complement pulsed laser driver systems, this pump laser driver supports driving EDFA pump laser diodes in a continuous or much higher current pulsed mode at rates up to 100kHz.

With careful optimisation of the on-board power supplies and current source to match the laser diode being driven, peak powers of 15 to 20 watts can be delivered in a pulsed application at up to 100kHz pulse rate.

In pulse mode a remote trigger is required into the 50 ohm terminated trigger input. This can be typically used to 'wake' the pump up again before the low power signal pulses are generated in a fibre optic measurement system utilising a MOPA (Master Oscillator Power Amplifier) type arrangement and then shut down after the pulse has left. A much lower system power consumption is then realised, along with achieving much higher reliabilty for the laser due to not runnning in a CW mode.

A safety interlock is provisioned to allow laser eye safety protection to be adhered to, ensuring that the pump will remain powered off when the interlock is broken.

System health is provided via a micro-controller connected to the outside world by both USB serial and I²C communications channels.

The entire card operates from a single +12V supply.