Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product Cascade Laser Starter Kit Alpes Lasers
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Quan tum Cascade Laser Starter Kit Instruction s Man ual (W eb v ersi on) CA UTION Before using the Qua n tum Ca scade Laser Starter Kit, read this do cumen tation and take spe cial note of all sa fet.
Con ten ts 1 Iden tification 4 1.1 Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1.2 Limited waran ty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 General 5 2.
2 4.6.5 Laser peak voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4.6.6 Average dissipatio n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4.6.7 Accuracy considerations . . . . . . . . .
3 10 App endix 55 10.1 Bias Circut (”Bias-T”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 10.1.1 General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 10.1.2 Description .
Chapter 1 Iden tification 1.1 Do cumen t Quantum Cascade Laser Starter Kit Instructions Manual. W eb V ersion 3.1 02.0 7 Man ufacturer Alpes Las ers SA 1-3 Passag e Max-Meuron CP 1766 CH-2001 Neuchˆ a tel T el. ++41 32 7299 510 F a x. ++ 41 32 72 13619 ht tp://www.
Chapter 2 General 2.1 Chapter o v erview This chapter giv es basic information o n system func- tions, sp ecifications and do cumentation. 2.2 Generaliti es The indications in the present Instructions Manual, in particula r the safety instructions m ust b e co m- plied with.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual General 6 2.4 Glossary The following terms, among others , are used in this Instructions Manual. 2.4.1 P ersons P ersonnel Personnel refers to all p erso ns who carry o .
Starter Kit Instruction Manual General 7 2.5 T yp ographic con ve n tions The following styles are used in this manual. Description sty le This st yle, used in relation with a num ber in il- lustrations (figures) is preceded by the cor resp ond- ing n umber: Example: (1) First item.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual General 8 Pro cedure effects sty le The pro cedure effects are describ ed by using the following sym b ol , → . Example: [1] Click on the Delete Sample icon. , → The messa ge Do you r e al ly want to delete the sample ? app ears .
Starter Kit Instruction Manual General 9 Note st yle Used when the p ersonnel attention m ust b e dr awn to a par ticular op eration or information. Example: Note: The lab or atory housing LLH100 makes availab le two outputs giving ac c ess t o these voltage.
Chapter 3 Safet y Instructions 3.1 Chapter o v erview This chapter sets out safety instructions for ensur- ing safe and trouble-fr ee opera tion of the system describ ed in this ma n ual.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Safety Instructions 11 3.3 General safet y instructions • Never attempt t o use a system for purp oses other than those detailed in this manual. • Never attempt to use a system in conjunc- tion with o ther instrument s without obtain- ing prior information and approv al from the manuf acturer.
Chapter 4 Description 4.1 Chapter o v erview This chapter gives a basic descr iption of the Q uan- tum Casca de Laser Starter Kit system a nd its com- po sition.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 13 4.3 DFB and FP Qu an tum Cascade Lasers 4.3.1 Description Quantum Cascade La sers (QCL) a re unip olar lasers emitting in the mid-infrared from 4 to 17 microns. The laser is a ridge of InGaAs and AlInAs grown on InP pr oviding gain and a F abry-Perot cavit y in order to build the laser o scillation up.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 14 4.3.3 Specifications F a r field elliptical (FWHM): V e rtical: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 15 4.3.4 Electrical mo del The QCL can be mo delised in a R C circuit. Electrical mo del c haracteristics The v a lues given below apply for a 10 µ m laser wa velength. Note: V oltage and r esistor values m ay vary ac c or ding to t he typ e of laser.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 16 4.4 Lab oratory Laser Housing(LLH100) 4.4.1 Description The Lab orator y Laser Housing is a Thermo-E lectric co oled b ox which encapsulates the Q uantu m Cas- cade Laser. The internal tempera ture is controlled by a PT- 100 sensor a nd heat is dissipated by air or water.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 17 LLH100 in ternal view The La bo ratory Las er Housing includes the follow- ing items: (1) LLH100 top cov er (2) PET U-shap ed holder (3) Gilded copper contact (UP and DN) (4) Laser (5) Laser r eceptacle 4.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 18 4.4.3 Thermo-Electric Co oler (TEC) and PT100 connections The pin 1 is recognise d b y a circle aro und it and a thin no on ended circle starts from pin one and turns around the pins until pin 6.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 19 4.4.4 Measuremen t connection These connections giv e access to the voltage on the laser. The ”L” connection is c onnected AC coupled to the catho de of the laser throug h a divider by ten. The end o f cable must be 50 Ω terminated for accu- rate measurement.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 20 4.5 QCL pulser switc hing un it(LDD100) 4.5.1 Description The switching unit is based on dedicated p ow er MOS-FETS with up to 3 0A curre n t compatibilities and 60V. In addition, the circuit is limited in p ower dissipation b y the coo ling of t he unit.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 21 4.6 QCL pulse switc hing measuring u nit 4.6.1 Generalities The measur ing circuit contained in the LDD100 provides information ab out v ar ious laser pulse pa - rameters (pea k voltages, supply v oltages, duty cy- cle, frequency).
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 22 Dut y cycle calculation UPI can b e used to calculate the duty factor a s follows: d f = 2 U P I − ν P low ν P high − ν P low with v P low and v P hig h as ab ov e.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 23 4.6.5 Laser p eak v oltage The la ser p eak voltage is given by: U peak = 2 U LH − U LL peak where U LL peak is the co rrected p eak v alue o f ULL as calculated in the previo us paragra ph.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 24 4.7 QCL pulser timing unit (TPG128) 4.7.1 Description The QCL pulser timing unit is desig ned to control the QCL pulser switching unit. It provides TTL pulses on 50Ω o n tw o indep en- dent outpu ts. The pulse duratio n is adjustable from 0 to 200 ns.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Description 25 4.8 QCL temp erature con troller(TCU15 1) 4.8.1 Description The TCU15 1 is us ed to con trol the laser’s temper- ature inside the Lab or atory Laser Housing.
Chapter 5 Installation 5.1 Chapter o v erview This chapter desc ribes the installation and the con- nection of the Q CL Starter Kit. It also explains the op erating checks before the normal use. 5.2 General The setup pro cedures outlined below m ust be fol- low e d meticulously to ensure that QCL Starter Kit op erates corr ectly and sa fely .
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Installation 27 5.4 Setting the appropriate A C v oltage on TCU151 The TCU15 1 temp erature controller w orks on 110 /120V or 220/2 40V if the fuse holder is or ien ted in the ap- propriate p osition. Note: Ther e ar e two r ates: 110-120 V, 60Hz (USA) 220-240 V, 50Hz (Eur op e) 5.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Installation 28 5.5 Installing the starter Kit 5.5.1 Before b eginning Make sure that the following devices are turned OFF: • TPG128 • TCU151 • User DC p ow er s upply 5.5.2 Pro cedure T o install the QCL Star ter Kit, pro ceed as fo llows: [1] Plug t he low impedance line in to the LLH100 connector (2).
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Installation 29 [3] Plug the cable ( 3) onto the LDD100(4). [4] Plug the +12VDC co nnector (1) in to the TPG128 (9). [5] Plug the trig ger BNC co nnector (2) into the T PG128 (9) Out 1 or Out 2 outptut. CAUTION ! The u nit must b e flo ating.
Chapter 6 Use 6.1 Chapter o v erview This chapter describ es how to use the QCL Starter Kit. It also explains the functionalities of the TPG12 8 and the T emp erature Co n troller (TCU151 ). 6.2 QCL pulse timing unit com- mand description The Quantum Cascade La ser is c ontrolled b y the QCL pulse timing unit TPG1 28.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Use 31 6.3 TCU151 command description The in ternal temp erature of the LLH100 is driven by t he TCU15 1 unit. The T emper ature Controler front and rear pan- els are comp osed o f the following items: (1) Set T emperature 5 turns p otentiometer: Allows to set the internal temper ature refer- ence.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Use 32 6.4 Laser utilisat ion 6.4.1 Ov erview In order to insure a c orrect use and and an appropr i- ate lifetime to the laser, it is recommended to pro - ceed accor ding a sp ecific o rder as b elow: • Start water flo w to co ol the LLH10 0.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Use 33 [5] T urn the TPG128 ON (8) and set the pulse per io d to 2.0 and the range to 0.5 to 10.5 µ s (medium), cor resp onding to a perio d length of ab out 2.5us, or to the v alues sp ecified o n the datasheet or by Alpes L asers.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Use 34 6.5 In terlo ck util isation The temper ature controller is designed with an built- in in terlo ck (1). This function is activ ated when a fault o ccurs o n the TCU1 51 controller (ov er -temper ature, ov er-current, etc.
Chapter 7 T roublesho oting 7.1 Chapter o v erview This chapter sets out troublesho oting instructions for ensur ing safe and tro uble-free op era tion of the Quantum Cascade Laser Starter Kit sys tem.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual T roubleshoo ting 36 Laser dra ws curren t but giv es no ligh t - The laser ma y b e reversed pol arized (it is not a desirable situation but do es gen- erally not des tro y the laser). √ Check th e p olar it y of the connection.
Chapter 8 Main tenance 8.1 Ov erview This chapter describes a ll pro cedures of mainte- nance and ca libration for the Q CL starter Kit. The pro cedures describ ed here in must be performed by per sonnel trained o n the electronic field, with a c- ceptance by Alpes Lasers , otherwise the w arrant y will be lo st.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 38 8.2 Replacemen t pro cedur es 8.2.1 Quan tum Cascade Las er replace- men t Before b eginning [1] Switch the QCL Starter Kit OFF Material needed • 1 set of Allen keys. • 1 ohmmeter. • 1 QCL laser. • a pair o f t weezers.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 39 [4] Install the new laser ( 4) into the holder using small tw eezer s ( 0.5 cm ap erture). [5] Hold the laser (4) on the g ilded ceramic pads with the t weezers pins alo ng the axis o f the largest length of t he copp er submount .
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 40 8.2.2 QCL ”UP” and ”DN ” p osition exc hange Before b eginning [1] Switch the QCL Starter Kit OFF. Material needed • 1 set of Allen keys. • 1 ohmmeter. • 1 FP-Q CL laser co nt act pla te. • 1 pair o f t weezers.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 41 [5] Place the screws (3) in the PET ho lder (4). [6] Place the PET holder (4) on the t wo guides (5) on the bac k of the laser receptacle ( 6) being ca reful of maintaining t he PET holder higher on the laser side than on the back side.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 42 8.3 TCU151 temp erature con- troller in terlo c k setting 8.3.1 Generalities The interlock is lo cated on the ma in b oard. Note: By default, the interlo ck is set to NC (Nor- mal ly Close) c ontact. 8.3.2 Before b eggining in terlo ck set- ting [1] Switch the instrument OFF.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 43 8.4 Calibarati on pro c edures 8.4.1 TPG128 calibration Generalities The present section descr ibes pro cedure to b e car- ried out for par ticular calibration o f the TPG12 8. Before b eginning [1] Switch the instrument OFF.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 44 [5] Cho ose the range 5 µ s to 105 µ s . Pot 10 turns Perio d on 10 . Adjust the adjustable capacitor max 105 µ s adj (4) in o rder to obtain a 1 05 µ s long p erio d. [6] Pot 10 turns Peri o d on 0. Ajust the pot Perio d min adj (1) in order to hav e a perio d of 5 µ s.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 45 [12] Connect os cilloscop e on the output Ou t1 . Load with a 5 0Ω . Cho os e a rep etition p erio d of ab out 5 µ s. [13] Pot 10 turns Dur ation on 10. Adjust capacitor Max dur ation (2) to hav e a output pulse of 2 00 ns +/- 5 ns.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 46 8.4.2 TCU151 temp erature controller calibration ! W ARNING ! Keep i n mind that during the calibration pro cedure, the i nstrumen t is p o wered on. Before b eginning [1] Po wer off the instrument. [2] Op en the TCU151 top cover (1) to access the TCU151 ma in bo ard (2).
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 47 Sensing level and range adjustemen t [4] Replace the ca ble connected to J8 (4) with the 100Ω 1% reference resisto r in the follow- ing wa y: Connect one side of the resisto rs to pins 1 and 2, the other s ide to pins 3 and 4 .
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 48 T emp e rature Reference offset adjustment [10] Adjust B13 (3) to 0.000 with P3 (4) [11] Set t he temperature with th e Set T em- p er atur e p otent iometer (Fig.4 0 (7)) to +5 ◦ C , → The temp erature reference signal B13 should be ≥ 4 .
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 49 Oscillator chec k [15] Measure the freq uency on the pi n 7 of U13 (1). Note: The value is 28KHz + /- 3KHz Curren t/V oltage ratio adjustment [16] Adjust the trimmer P4 (6) in o rder to read B4 = 0 .6V (4).
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 50 CA UTION ! F or the further steps of this c hec k, l imit the pos itiv e cur ren t to 1 A and the negativ e one with 1.2 A b y means of the 5 turns p oten tiometer) T emp e rature lim it threshold [21] Measure the voltage on pin 2 of U10 (1).
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 51 Curren t adjustmen t [28] Set the selecto r (3) to mo de Setting ◦ C and adjust the temp erature v alue to 25 ◦ C by m eans o f the Set T emp er atur e 5 tuns po rtent iometer P8 (2). [29] On the external power supply , rise slowly the v oltage to 30 V and the curr en t to 1.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 52 Miscellaneous functions testing T emp e rature limit tes ting [37] Decrea se the temp erature limit threshold from 0.7 V to 0.3 V. Note: F or mor e details, se e T emp er atur e li mit thr eshold on p age 50.
Chapter 9 Application notes 9.1 Detection te c hniques 9.1.1 Direct absorption In a direct absorption mea surement, the change in int ensity of a beam is recorded as the latter crosses a sa mpling cell where the chemical to b e detected is contained. This measurement tec hnique has the adv antage of simplicity .
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Maintenance 54 9.1.3 Photoacoustic detection In the photoacoustic detection, the optical b eam is per io dically modulated in amplitude before illumi- nating the cell containing the absorbing c hemical.
Chapter 10 App endix 10.1 Bias Circut (”Bias-T”) 10.1.1 General The Bia s-T allows to a pply a constant (DC) cur- rent to the laser in addition to the pulsed current (therefore a B ias-T is useless in CW mo de). The current is drawn from the e xternal (user supplied) power supply through the laser.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Appendix 56 10.1.3 Specifications Bias frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Up to 1 00 Hz Ach iev a ble shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 .1% Input voltage U in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Appendix 57 Dangers and dis adv an tages o f using a Bi as-T circuit • Since a Bias-T only allows to heat the laser, the emissio n wav elength can only b e increa sed (or emission wa ven umber decrea sed), and out- put p ow er will decre ase with incr eased Bias current, due to the additional heating.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Appendix 58 • As a rule of thum b, the ov erall dissipated power (sum of DC Bias current dissipation and pulse current dissipation) must never be higher than the average dissipated p ower given b y the hig h- est current / voltage / temper ature combina- tion sp ecified in the datasheet.
Starter Kit Instruction Manual Appendix 59 10.2 Unpac king NS laser from its transp ortation b o x Fig.54: Unpac king i nstructions for NS submounts.
An important point after buying a device Alpes Lasers Cascade Laser Starter Kit (or even before the purchase) is to read its user manual. We should do this for several simple reasons:
If you have not bought Alpes Lasers Cascade Laser Starter Kit yet, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the basic data on the product. First of all view first pages of the manual, you can find above. You should find there the most important technical data Alpes Lasers Cascade Laser Starter Kit - thus you can check whether the hardware meets your expectations. When delving into next pages of the user manual, Alpes Lasers Cascade Laser Starter Kit you will learn all the available features of the product, as well as information on its operation. The information that you get Alpes Lasers Cascade Laser Starter Kit will certainly help you make a decision on the purchase.
If you already are a holder of Alpes Lasers Cascade Laser Starter Kit, but have not read the manual yet, you should do it for the reasons described above. You will learn then if you properly used the available features, and whether you have not made any mistakes, which can shorten the lifetime Alpes Lasers Cascade Laser Starter Kit.
However, one of the most important roles played by the user manual is to help in solving problems with Alpes Lasers Cascade Laser Starter Kit. Almost always you will find there Troubleshooting, which are the most frequently occurring failures and malfunctions of the device Alpes Lasers Cascade Laser Starter Kit along with tips on how to solve them. Even if you fail to solve the problem, the manual will show you a further procedure – contact to the customer service center or the nearest service center
