
THE PULSE OF THE FUTURE
DIRECTED
ENERGY
INCORPORATED
PCO-7110 PULSED LASER
DIODE DRIVER MODULE
Compact, Economical OEM Module
4A To 120A Output
4ns To 65ns Pulse Width
Repetition Frequency Single-Shot
To 50KHz
Diodes May Be Mounted Directly On The
PCO-7110, Eliminating The Need For
Interconnect Cables Or Striplines
Pulsed Current Monitor Output
The PCO-7110 is a compact, economical OEM laser diode
driver module designed to provide extremely fast, high current
pulses to drive laser diodes in range finder, LIDAR, atmos-
pheric communications and other applications requiring high
current, nanosecond pulses.
Six standard models are offered in the PCO-7110 product line,
providing pulse currents ranging from 4A to 120A, and pulse
widths from 4 nanoseconds to 65 nanoseconds, at frequencies
as high as 50KHz. Custom pulse width and output current con-
figurations are available for OEM applications – contact DEI for
more information.
Mounting pads are provided to mount the laser diode directly
to the driver, eliminating the need for interconnect cables or
striplines. The four-hole mounting pattern accepts TO-18, TO-
5, TO-52, 5.6MM, and 9MM packages (EG&G Optoelectronics
R, S, T and U packages), as well as other packages of similar
dimensions and lead spacing, mounted perpendicular to the
driver circuit board. To facilitate different packages and mount-
ing preferences, there are two solder pads on the end of the
board to accept various laser diode packages mounted on axis
to the driver. Furthermore, the diode can be connected re-
motely from the driver using a low-impedance stripline inter-
connection between the mounting pads and the leads of the
laser diode.
A current monitor output may be viewed with an oscilloscope,
providing a straight-forward means to observe the diode cur-
rent waveform in real-time.
The PCO-7110 driver provides high-speed performance, a ro-
bust design, flexible mounting configurations and the ability to
drive a wide range of laser diodes in a small package. These fea-
tures provide the user with an economical OEM module with the
flexibility to be readily designed into a wide range of products.
Technical Overview
The PCO-7110 uses MOSFET transistors as the main switching
element. Unlike avalanche transistor drivers, neither the power
MOSFET or the gate drive transistor of the PCO-7110 are oper-
ated in breakdown, but instead are controlled via their gates. This
design provides a high degree of reliability, excellent switching
performance, and superior amplitude and temporal stability over a
broad operating temperature range.
The driver requires three inputs: A TTL trigger, +15VDC support
power, and a high voltage DC input (+195V or +495V maximum,
depending upon the driver model). The output current depends
upon the available charge of the driver’s pulse forming network.
This charge is directly proportional to the applied voltage. There-
fore it is possible to vary the output of the PCO-7110 by varying
the input high voltage amplitude. The output current can be varied
over a large range with little variation in pulse width.
Protection circuitry is designed into the PCO-7110 to protect the
driver against excessively long input trigger signals and support
power supply transients and over-voltage conditions. Additionally,
high speed clamp diodes are incorporated into the output network
to protect the laser diode against reverse voltage conditions.