Precision Laser Diode Drivers for OEM, Laboratory and Industrial Systems
Analog Technologies offers a broad portfolio of laser diode drivers for engineers who need low noise, constant current, high current, linear or PWM solutions in compact and reliable packages. Our laser drivers are used in DPSSL systems, EDFA and fiber laser subsystems, spectroscopy, sensing, medical diagnostics, laboratory instruments and other precision photonics applications.
Whether your priority is ultra-low output noise, higher current capability, wider compliance voltage, AC input operation or faster modulation, this page helps you compare ATI laser driver families by input voltage, output current, output voltage, noise and speed. We also provide evaluation boards for many models to simplify development and shorten time to integration.
Series-connected diodes, higher forward voltage laser assemblies
Useful when output voltage headroom is critical
Constant current and constant power control
Dual-mode laser driver
LDA1-CP1, LDA1-CP2
Systems with photodiode feedback and optical power control
Supports current or power regulation depending on design needs
AC mains input
AC input PWM driver
AAS series
Standalone laser systems and turnkey equipment
Useful when no external DC supply is preferred
Short pulse current drive
Pulse mode laser driver
ATLP series
Pulsed laser applications requiring very high peak current
Suitable for short pulse operation instead of CW drive
Laser Driver Family Comparison
This summary table highlights the main differences between ATI laser driver families. For individual part numbers, please review the detailed table above and the product sections below.
Family
Output Type
Input Voltage
Current Range
Key Strength
Typical Use
ATLSXA103 / 104 / 106
Linear
3V to 5.5V
Up to 1.5A
Low noise and precision analog control
Low noise CW diode laser driving
ATLSXA116 / 117 / 118
Linear
3.3V to 28V
Up to 3A
Low noise with wider compliance voltage
Higher voltage photonics systems and QCL related work
ATLSXA201 / 202
PWM
3V to 5.5V
Up to 6A
High efficiency with compact package
General-purpose OEM laser driving
ATLSXA212 / 214 / 216 / 217 / 218 / 219
PWM
4.5V to 40V
Up to 25A
High current and higher output voltage capability
Industrial and high power laser diode systems
LDA1-CP1 / LDA1-CP2
PWM dual-mode
3V to 5.5V
Up to 2A
Constant current and constant power options
Photodiode feedback control
AAS Series
PWM AC input
100VAC to 240VAC
Up to 100A
Direct AC input and high output power
Standalone equipment and laser power subsystems
Typical Applications
ATI laser diode drivers are suitable for direct diode laser systems, fiber laser subsystems, EDFA pumping, DPSSL modules, spectroscopy instruments, medical and diagnostic equipment, optical sensing, telecom assemblies, research platforms and other custom OEM photonics designs. If you have a requirement that is not covered by a standard model, contact us for customization support.
Why Choose Analog Technologies?
Low noise and stable control: suitable for precision laser diode applications that require clean current drive and dependable modulation behavior.
Broad product coverage: includes linear, PWM, pulse mode, high current, high voltage and AC input laser driver solutions.
Engineering-friendly support: evaluation boards, application resources and customization options help shorten development time.
Design Notes
Application notes and design-related references.
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Videos
Video overview of ATI laser driver products.
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White Papers
Background reading and technical insights.
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FAQ
Common questions about selection and applications.
Laser Driver Video
Watch a quick overview of ATI laser driver products, key use cases and design approach.
Featured Laser Driver Families
Browse the main ATI laser driver product families below. This section is the correct destination for the “Product Families” quick link at the top of the page.
The pulse mode laser driver turns a high current switch
on for a short time to apply a constant high voltage
across the laser diode to generate a short pulse current.
Because the time is short, usually in nano or tenth of
nano seconds, the current can be as high as tens or
hundreds of amps, while the average output power is
really low, tenth or hundreds of miliwatt, usually no
heat-sink is needed.
The output current of the ATLSXA116D can be set by an input voltage linearly or modulated by an external large signal of up to 1MHz in bandwidth, resulting in a minimum 170nS rise and fall time (Large signal) at the output current.
A highly stable low noise 2.5V reference voltage is provided internally for setting the output current. This reference can also be used as the voltage reference for external ADCs (Analog to Digital Converters) and/or DACs (Digital to Analog Converters) which are utilized for converting the analog signals.
The ATLS14M5V3R5AS is an ultra compact, low profile, and fully molded laser driver for driving diode lasers with up to 3.5A constant current, high efficiency, low noise, high reliability, zero EMI, and small package.
The ATLSXA117 series of laser drivers/laser controllers feature high input voltage and low noise. The input voltage range is between 3.3V to 10V. The maximum current capability is 250mA and 1A. The output voltage is 0.5V to 8.5V when powered by a 10V power supply. There are 2 packaging versions available: DIP through hole package and surface mount type.
High voltage low noise laser drivers can be used to drive QCLs (Quantum Cascade Laser) for radar, medical diagnostics, spectroscopy, chemical analysis, general measurement systems, etc.
This series of high voltage low noise laser drivers include ATLS1A118, ATLS2A118, ATLS3A118 and ATLS10A118, and more are coming. It features wide input voltage range from 10V~28V, ultra low noise, input voltage polarity reverse protection, etc.
The ALDD28VXA401 uses a constant frequency high efficiency PWM output stage. The laser driver has 3 states: Operation, Standby and Shutdown. Under Standby mode, all the laser driver components work except the output stage. Under Shutdown mode, all the components of the laser driver stops working and the power supply current is reduced to < 3µA.
This laser driver generates a high accuracy high stability low noise, 5µVP-P, < 1µVP-P, < 8ppm/°C, 4.096V<±2mV, voltage reference output which can be used for setting the output current and also be used as the reference voltage for the ADCs (Analog to Digital Converters)and/or DACs (Digital to Analog Converters).
This series laser drivers include three types, ATLS25A219D, ATLS25A219CH and ATLS25A219GUI. These laser drivers feature wide input and output voltage range, high output current capability, high efficiency, low output noise, wide modulation bandwidth, and small size. ATLS25A219D is in DIP package and has a compact size. ATLS25A219CH is chassis mounted, with good heat dissipation performance, and can work under high power without adding heat sink. ATLS25A219GUI is chassis mounted and has a GUI interface for easy operation.
Part Number
Description
Datasheet
Stock Info
Buy Now
ATLS25A219D
25A Laser Driver in DIP Package
0
ATLS25A219CH
Chassis Mounted 25A Laser Driver
0
ATLS25A219GUI
Chassis Mounted 25A Laser Driver with A GUI interface
This laser driver, ATLS15A218, is an electronic module that has all the valuable and important, but often difficult to achieve simultaneously, features such as: wide input and output voltage range, high output current capability, high efficiency, low output noise (but it has an output 4mVp-p ripple voltage at 500kHz), wide modulation bandwidth, and small size. The wide output voltage range, 0.1VPS ~ 0.8VPS, allows driving one or multiple serial laser diodes at the same time, for up to 15A well controlled current at high efficiency. The extremely low noise between DC ~ 10Hz and low DC current drift make it ideal for driving diode pumped laser diodes.
This laser driver, ATLSXA217, is an electronic module that has all the valuable and important, but
often difficult to achieve simultaneously, features such as: wide input and output voltage range, high
output current capability, high efficiency, low output noise (but it has an output 4mVp-p ripple voltage at
700kHz), wide modulation bandwidth, and small size. The wide output voltage range, 2.8V ~ 22V, allows driving
one or multiple serial laser diodes at the same time.
Note: this series of laser drivers can be evaluated by the evaluation board ATLS216EV1.0.
High voltage and constant current ATLSXA216 series laser drivers/controllers are now available: ATLS12A216, ATLS10A216 and ATLS8A216. The wide output voltage range allows driving one or more multiple serial laser diodes at the same time, for up to 8A and 10A well-controlled current at high efficiency.
To better meet the requirements for driving a series of laser diodes with high voltage and constant current, the ATLSXA214 series laser drivers/controllers were developed: ATLS4A214 and ATLS6A214. The wide output voltage range allows driving one or more multiple serial laser diodes at the same time, for up to 4A, 6A well-controlled current at high efficiency.
In order to meet the need for driving high voltage diode lasers or driving a serial of diode lasers simultaneously, we have developed the ATLSXA212 series of laser drivers/controllers: ATLS500MA212, ATLS1A212, ATLS2A212, and ATLS3A212. Their input voltage can be between 4.5V to 15V, the output voltage can be from 1V to (VPS -1V), where VPS is the power supply input voltage. The maximum output voltage can reach 14V when powered by a 15V supply. They have 4 current capability versions, 500mA, 1A, 2A and 3A, and are packed in 2 styles: DIP (Dual In Line) through hole package and SMT (Surface Mount Technology) package. The former has the part number with a suffix "D", for the latter the suffix is "S". For example: ATLS2A212D or ATLS2A212S. The main features are high efficiency, high output power, small size, high current stability, low output noise, and wide modulation bandwidth. These controllers can be evaluated easily by using their compatible evaluation board, ATLS212EV1.0. These series of laser drivers can output high power and the high-power lasers are often costly. In order to avoid making costly mistakes when evaluating this series of laser controllers, we have also developed a load assembly that can be used to emulate the expensive laser diodes for evaluating the laser controllers.
Load assembly is designed to emulate laser diodes for evaluating laser drivers. These laser drivers can be used to drive one or multiple laser diodes with high efficiency and low noise for DPSSL, EDFA, or fiber laser applications. They accept wide range input voltage and their output voltage can be from 0V to almost the same as the input voltage. The size is very small, but can output high current, high voltage, thus high output power. In addition, these laser drivers have low output noise (except that there is a 500kHz 4mVp-p ripple voltage at the output) and wide modulation bandwidth. This laser load assembly can be used with the evaluation board, or be used alone, as a dummy laser load, to emulate one or multiple laser diodes.
Part Number
Description
Datasheet
Stock Status
Buy Now
ATLS212DLD1.0
Load Assembly for ATLSXA212
2
ALLD10A14V
Load Assembly for ATLSXA103, ATLSXA104, ATLSXA214, ATLSXA216
This series laser driver/controller is designed for driving diode lasers with low noise current at high efficiency, > 76%. The output current of laser drivers/controllers can be set either by an analog voltage ranges from 0 to 2.5V or by a potentiometer from 0 to 20A, 30A, 40, 45A, 50A. All our laser driver/controllers are of 100 % lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant. More detail technical and application information about this laser driver/controller can be found in the datasheets below.
The ATLSXA106 series laser driver is designed for driving diode lasers with up to 250mA and 500mA extra low noise current.
The output current of the ATLS250MA106 can be set by an input voltage linearly or modulated by an external signal of up to 100 KHz in bandwidth, resulting in a minimum 1.5μS rise and fall times at the output current.
The ATLSXA104 series laser drivers/controllers have ultra low output noise, compact size, and come with a current limit protection function. In case the controller temperature exceeds a preset limit of 120°C, the controller will shut down by itself to prevent the controller from being damaged by the excessive heat.
The ATLSXA103 series laser drivers/controllers have ultra low output noise, compact size, and come with current limit protection function. The maximum output current of this diode laser driver can be selected to be: 100mA, 200mA, 250mA, 500mA, and 1A, with the output P-P noise to be: 1.5uA, 2.5uA, 2.5uA, 5uA and 6uA respectively. These laser controllers are of 100 % lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant.
Evaluation Board for ATLSXA103 Series Diode Laser Drivers/Controllers is designed to evaluate the functions and basic specifications for our extra low noise laser drivers, ATLS1A103D, ATLS100MA103D, ATLS200MA103D, ATLS250MA103D and ATLS500MA103D; ATLS100MA104D, ATLS250MA104D, ATLS500MA104D and ATLS1A104D; ATLS250MA106D and ATLS500MA106D. It comes with a socket that fits the drivers in the DIP package, i.e., that's the ones with the “D” suffix. The evaluation board has a dummy laser formed by a series of regular laser diodes and can be used to emulate how the real laser diode would be driven by the laser driver. The output current and the output current limit can be programmed respectively by the potentiometers mounted on the board. This laser driver evaluation board is of 100 % lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant.
Input voltage: 10V~28V
Maximum output current: 100mA, 200mA, 500mA, 1A, 2A and 3A
Ultra low noise
Under-voltage protection Current limit
Over-temperature protection
High absolute accuracy: <0.1%
High stability: <100ppm/°C
Control loop good indication function available: LPGD
Output current real time monitoring available: LIO Complete shielding
Compact size
100 % Lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant
The ATLF20A5V is designed for filtering the ripples of laser driver, the output of which will not be influenced by the filter. The input voltage ranges from 0V to 5V, and the current is from 0A to 20A. It can filter the ripples 10KHz ~ 1MHz of the power supply. It is able to attenuation 70dB, eliminating the negative influences against the output of the laser driver by the power supply.
The ATLS1A102 is a diode laser driver designed for driving diode lasers with up to 1A low noise current. When powered by a 5V power supply, the output voltage is 1.5V to 4V. This diode laser driver is of 100 % lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant.
The CWD-01-V2-D is designed for driving diode lasers with high efficiency, >90%, and low noise. This diode laser driver can be applied for DPSSL, EDFA, fiber laser, direct diode lasers, etc. It can output up to 2A current without needing a heat sink and is available in DIP package. This laser controller is of 100 % lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant.
The ATLSXA201D series diode laser drivers are the upgraded drop-in replacements for our CWD-01-V2 laser drivers, except that the starting up time is shorter: 4mS as opposed to 100mS in CWD-01-V2. These diode laser drivers are designed for driving laser diodes with low noise constant current at high efficiency. The "xA" in the part number specifies the maximum output current of the modules, which can be: 500mA, 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A and 6A respectively and the maximum output voltage is up to 2.7V when powered by a 3.3V power supply and 4.2V by a 5V power supply. The module is packed by a 6-sided metal enclosure, emitting zero EMIs, and has a DIP mounting package. They are of 100 % lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant.
The evaluation board, ATLS201DEV1.0, is designed to evaluate the ATLSXA201D series diode laser drivers: ATLS500MA201D, ATLS1A201D, ATLS2A201D, ATLS3A201D, ATLS4A201D and ATLS6A201D. The main purpose for using this is to make it convenient to evaluate the laser controllers. It can set the output current and comes with an unbreakable dummy laser diode which is formed by a series of regular diodes. This laser controller evaluation board has a complete application circuit, an LED to indicate the working status of the laser driver, and a fan for dissipating the heat when evaluating a 6A laser driver. This laser controller evaluation board is of 100 % lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant.
The ATLSXA202D series laser drivers have slightly different pin out as that of ATLSXA201D series laser drivers. This series of laser drivers have a synchronization function pin which allows using an external digital signal to synchronize the internal switching frequency of the PWM output stage. This function is useful when using the laser drivers with a switching power supply that has a similar switching frequency or has multiple such laser drivers on the same PCB, to eliminate the beating frequency interference. They are designed for driving laser diodes with low noise constant current and high efficiency. The "xA" in the part number specifies the maximum output current of the laser controller, it can be chosen to be: 500mA, 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A or 6A. The module is packaged in a metal enclosure, emitting zero EMIs, and has DIP mounting package. These laser drivers are of 100 % lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant.
The evaluation board, ATLS202DEV1.0, is designed for evaluating the series laser drivers: ATLS500MA202D, ATLS1A202D, ATLS2A202D, ATLS3A202D and ATLS4A202D. The main purpose for using this evaluation board is to make it convenient to evaluate the laser drivers. This laser driver evaluation board comes with an unbreakable dummy laser diode formed by a series of regular diodes. It has a complete application circuit, an LED to indicate the working status of the driver, and a fan for reducing the temperature dummy laser diode when being driven by high current. This laser controller evaluation board is of 100 % lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant.
The LDA1-CP1 is an electronic module designed for driving P type (PD anode and LD cathode are connected to the laser diode can) diode lasers with well controlled and monitored driving current and output laser power. This laser driver has a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) output stage, and achieves >90% high power efficiency, eliminating the need for a heat sink. The output current and laser power can be set linearly by two separate input voltages and monitored linearly at the same time by two output voltages respectively. This laser controller comes with a high stability low noise 2.5V reference voltage which can be used to set the output current and the output power, and as voltage references for external ADCs and DACs. This laser driver is of 100 % lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant.
The LDA1-CP2 is an electronic module designed for driving N type (PD cathode and LD anode are connected to the laser diode can) diode lasers with well controlled and monitored driving current and output laser power. This laser driver has a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) output stage, and achieves >90% high power efficiency, eliminating the need for a heat sink. The output current and laser power can be set linearly by two separate input voltages and monitored linearly at the same time by two output voltages respectively. This laser controller comes with a high stability low noise 2.5V reference voltage which can be used to set the output current and as voltage references for external ADCs and DACs. It is of 100 % lead (Pb)-free and RoHS compliant.
1. What is a laser diode driver?
A laser diode driver is an electronic circuit or module that regulates current supplied to a laser diode. A well-designed driver improves stability, protects the laser diode and allows accurate control of optical performance.
2. How do I choose between a linear laser driver and a PWM laser driver?
Choose a linear laser driver when the priority is lower output noise and precision analog control. Choose a PWM laser driver when you need higher efficiency, higher output current or reduced heat dissipation.
3. Which ATI laser drivers are best for low noise applications?
The ATLSXA103, ATLSXA104, ATLSXA106, ATLSXA116 and ATLSXA117 families are strong candidates when low output noise is a key requirement.
4. Which ATI laser drivers support high current output?
The ATLSXA201, ATLSXA202, ATLSXA214, ATLSXA216, ATLSXA217, ATLSXA218 and ATLS25A219 families provide higher current capability for demanding laser diode applications.
5. What does compliance voltage mean when selecting a laser driver?
Compliance voltage is the output voltage headroom the driver can provide while maintaining the programmed current. It must be high enough for the forward voltage of the laser diode or series-connected diodes.
6. Which series are suitable for constant current and constant power control?
The LDA1-CP1 and LDA1-CP2 dual-mode laser drivers support current or power-oriented control schemes and are useful in systems that use photodiode feedback.
7. Are evaluation boards available?
Yes. Evaluation boards are available for many ATI laser driver series and can help shorten prototyping time and reduce integration risk.
8. How can I achieve the highest digital modulation speed on a laser controller output current?
For laser drivers ATLSXA201 and ATLSXA202, the LIS pin should be toggled between a high value corresponding to the operating current and a low value corresponding to about half of the threshold current of the driven laser.
For laser drivers ATLSXA212, ATLSXA214, ATLSXA216, ATLSXA217 and ATLSXA218, set a high voltage on the LISH pin corresponding to the laser operating current, set a low voltage on the LISL pin corresponding to about half of the threshold current, and then use a digital signal to drive the PCN pin.
