NKT Photonics SuperK COMPACT User manual

Item 800-629-01
SUPERK COMPACT
PRODUCT GUIDE
White Light Laser

PRODUCT GUIDE
This guide includes the following NKT Photonics Lasers:
SuperK COMPACT
model# S024-010-000 (FC/PC output connector)
SuperK COMPACT
model# S024-010-010 (FC/APC output connector)
SuperK COMPACT
model# S024-010-020 (Collimator output connector)
SuperK COMPACT Product Guide Revision 1.0 06-2021 W-10456

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GUIDE OVERVIEW
This product guide is intended to provide functional, operational and installation
information for the SuperK COMPACT laser systems. The guide is divided into
three sections:
• SuperK COMPACT Description – introduces the laser’s theory and
functionality, its features and interfaces, and describes the safety labels and
their placement.
• Operating the Laser – provides information and procedures on how to setup
communications with the laser and manage its operation.
• Installing the Laser – includes the details on connecting a door safety switch,
AC power, laser accessories, optical outputs and custom external equipment.
Safety For information on how to safely deploy and operate the laser refer to the
following documents:
• SuperK COMPACT Safety, Handling and Regulatory Information
Target Audience This guide is for technical personnel involved in the selection, planning and
deployment of lasers in laboratory and industrial settings. The guide assumes a
reasonable knowledge level of lasers, photonic principles and electrical interface
connectivity.
Chapters Inside This guide includes the following chapters:
• Chapter I “Laser Description” — Describes the SuperK COMPACT laser series
including its general operational principles, management and interfaces.
• Chapter 2 “Front Panel Controls” — Describes the laser’s front panel menu
and controls that directly operate the laser.
• Chapter 3 “Connecting and Turning ON the Laser” — Provides information
and procedures on how to connect to the laser’s management software and
use it to turn laser emission ON and OFF.
• Chapter 4 “CONTROL Interface” — Includes descriptions and procedures of
all other CONTROL menu and panel items.
• Chapter 5 “Mechanical Installation” — This chapter provides information on
how to install the laser including installation surface, environment and cooling
requirements.
• Chapter 6 “Connecting the Laser” — This chapter provides the information on
how to physically connect the safety interlock, power, the optical collimator,
and the synchronization interfaces.

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• Appendices — The guide includes multiple appendices including laser
specifications, support contact details, pinout information, fiber maintenance,
laser accessory descriptions and how to install the CONTROL management
platform.
Added information
and Safety Notices
Lasers are highly dangerous devices that can cause serious injury and property
damage. This guide use the following symbols to either highlight important safety
information or provide further information in relation to a specific topic.
Note: Highlights additional information related to the associated topic and/or pro-
vides links or the name of the NKT guides describing the additional information.
Caution: Alerts you to a potential hazard that could cause loss of data, or damage
the system or equipment.
Warning: The laser safety warning alerts you to potential serious injury that may
be caused when using the laser.
Revision The section records the document revision details.
Release date Release version and changes
2021-June 1.0 first release - Using an older manual version as a source,
completely updated the format, layout and added new
information obtained.

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CONTENTS
Guide overview .............................................................................................. 3
Safety ................................................................................................... 3
TABLES ........................................................................................................ 11
FIGURES ...................................................................................................... 13
PROCEDURES ............................................................................................ 17
Section 1 SUPERK COMPACT DESCRIPTION 19
1 Laser Description ......................................................................................... 21
Terminology ....................................................................................... 21
Accessories ........................................................................................ 22
CONTROL ......................................................................................... 22
Temperature regulation ...................................................................... 22
Safety .....................................................................................................22
Optical output .........................................................................................22
Supercontinuum ................................................................................. 22
Spectral output ................................................................................... 22
Output fiber ........................................................................................ 24
FC Connector ..................................................................................... 24
Collimator ........................................................................................... 24
Collimator beam properties ................................................................ 24
Factory test report .............................................................................. 25
Polarization spacer ............................................................................ 25
Output power ..................................................................................... 25
Front panel controls................................................................................ 26
Optical output fiber ............................................................................. 26
LCD display menu .............................................................................. 26
Status LEDs ....................................................................................... 26
Emission button ................................................................................. 26

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Navigation buttons ............................................................................. 26
Selection dial ..................................................................................... 27
ON/OFF switch .................................................................................. 27
Key switch .......................................................................................... 27
Rear panel interfaces ............................................................................. 27
AC input ............................................................................................. 28
RS-232 serial port .............................................................................. 28
Analog pulse output ........................................................................... 28
Logic pulse output .............................................................................. 28
USB connector ................................................................................... 28
Status LEDs ....................................................................................... 28
External bus ....................................................................................... 29
COAX trig input .................................................................................. 29
Industrial trig input ............................................................................. 29
Configuration and operation overview .................................................... 29
Advanced laser control ...................................................................... 29
Key switch and interlock safety .......................................................... 29
Laser accessory management ........................................................... 30
Status LEDs ............................................................................................30
Rear panel LEDs ............................................................................... 30
Front panel LEDs ............................................................................... 31
Chassis labels ........................................................................................ 32
Section 2 OPERATING THE LASER 33
2 Front Panel Controls .................................................................................... 35
Overview .................................................................................................35
General operation .............................................................................. 35
Menu items ............................................................................................. 36
Top menu level .................................................................................. 36
Operating mode ................................................................................. 38
Frequency .......................................................................................... 40

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Power % ............................................................................................. 40
Burst pulses ....................................................................................... 41
Coax trig level .................................................................................... 41
Watchdog timer .................................................................................. 42
Display backlight ................................................................................ 43
Serial Number .................................................................................... 43
Firmware versions .............................................................................. 44
Emission button ......................................................................................44
3 Connecting and Turning ON the Laser ........................................................ 45
CONTROL software ...............................................................................45
Installing the software ........................................................................ 45
Connecting the laser to a CONTROL PC ...............................................45
USB connection ................................................................................. 45
Controlling laser emission ...................................................................... 47
Safety ................................................................................................. 47
Preparation ........................................................................................ 47
Turning ON the laser .......................................................................... 47
Errors ................................................................................................. 48
Turning OFF the laser ........................................................................ 49
4 CONTROL Interface .................................................................................... 51
CONTROL overview ...............................................................................51
Relocating panels .............................................................................. 52
Toggling panels .................................................................................. 53
Connecting to the laser ...................................................................... 53
Status panel............................................................................................ 54
Status indicators ................................................................................ 54
System info ........................................................................................ 56
Emission button ................................................................................. 56
Control settings .......................................................................................56
CONTROL menu .................................................................................... 58
Key Updater tool ................................................................................ 58

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Log downloader ................................................................................. 59
Extensions overview .......................................................................... 60
Trigger mode .......................................................................................... 62
Internal trigger .................................................................................... 62
External trigger .................................................................................. 63
Burst mode ........................................................................................ 63
Gated trigger ...................................................................................... 64
Gated trigger inverted ........................................................................ 65
Controls ..................................................................................................66
Power or repetition rate selection ...................................................... 66
Repetition rate ................................................................................... 66
Power ................................................................................................. 67
Trigger level ....................................................................................... 67
Burst count ......................................................................................... 67
Application log panel .............................................................................. 68
Device monitor ........................................................................................ 68
Section 3 INSTALLING THE LASER 71
5 Mechanical Installation ................................................................................. 73
General installation ................................................................................. 73
Installation surface ............................................................................. 73
Environment ....................................................................................... 73
Air cooling .......................................................................................... 73
Output fiber ........................................................................................ 73
6 Connecting the Laser ................................................................................... 75
Connecting the safety interlock ..............................................................75
Interlock operation ............................................................................. 75
Connecting power ...................................................................................77
Connecting the optical output .................................................................78
Back reflection ................................................................................... 78
FC connector installation .................................................................. 78

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Collimator installation ......................................................................... 79
Connecting accessories with the external bus .......................................80
External bus ....................................................................................... 80
Connecting the external bus .............................................................. 80
Trigger input ports .................................................................................. 82
Coax trigger input ............................................................................... 82
Industrial trigger input ........................................................................ 83
Synchronization output ports .................................................................. 83
Analog pulse output ........................................................................... 83
Logic pulse output .............................................................................. 84
Example synchronization circuit ......................................................... 86
Appendices
A Specifications ............................................................................................... 91
B Service and Support Information ................................................................. 93
Servicing the laser ..................................................................................93
Opening the laser chassis .................................................................. 93
WARRANTY VOID IF REMOVED label ............................................. 93
Support contact details ........................................................................... 94
Support website ................................................................................. 94
Shipping address ............................................................................... 94
C External Bus Pinout ..................................................................................... 95
D Fiber Maintenance ....................................................................................... 97
Fiber tip cleaning ....................................................................................97
Signs of damage ................................................................................ 97
Damaged facet ................................................................................... 98
Polishing .................................................................................................98
E Accessories .................................................................................................. 99
SuperK VARIA...................................................................................... 100
SuperK SELECT................................................................................... 101
SuperK LLTF ........................................................................................ 103

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SuperK SPLIT....................................................................................... 104
SuperK CONNECT............................................................................... 105
Polarization spacer ............................................................................... 106
F Control Software ........................................................................................ 107
Installing CONTROL............................................................................. 107
G Collimator Output Beam Properties ........................................................... 113
Beam parameter definitions ..................................................................113
Definitions: ....................................................................................... 113
Waist location .................................................................................. 113
Beam diameters in the visible range .................................................... 114
Full angle beam divergence θ1 ........................................................ 114
Beam diameter at waist location W01 ............................................. 114
Waist location from collimator Z01 ................................................... 114

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TABLES
Table 1: RS-232 serial COM port settings........................................................ 28
Table 2: Status LEDs........................................................................................ 31
Table 3: Front panel LEDs................................................................................ 31
Table 4: Chassis labels .................................................................................... 32
Table 5: Front panel LCD menu items.............................................................. 35
Table 6: External gate modes – pulse emission truth table.............................. 40
Table 7: Gated modes – pulse emission truth table ......................................... 66
Table 8: Device Monitor parameters ................................................................ 68
Table 9: External Bus port – connecting accessories....................................... 81
Table 10: Coax trigger input specifications ...................................................... 82
Table 11: Industrial trigger input specifications ............................................... 83
Table 12: Analog pulse output ......................................................................... 84
Table 13: Logic pulse output ........................................................................... 85
Table 14: Optical ............................................................................................. 91
Table 15: Interfaces ......................................................................................... 91
Table 16: Mechanical dimensions and environment ....................................... 91
Table 17: Electrical........................................................................................... 92
Table 18: External bus pinout........................................................................... 95
Table 19: SuperK COMPACT accessories ...................................................... 99
Table 20: VARIA specifications ...................................................................... 100
Table 21: SELECT AOTF types ..................................................................... 102
Table 22: LLTF Contrast Model Specifications............................................... 103
Table 23: SPLIT Wavelength ranges.............................................................. 104
Table 24: Fiber delivery specifications ........................................................... 105

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FIGURES
Figure 1: SuperK COMPACT general view ..................................................... 21
Figure 2: Supercontinuum output of the laser ................................................. 23
Figure 3: Approximation of the SuperK COMPACT output pulse .................... 23
Figure 4: SuperK COMPACT collimator .......................................................... 24
Figure 5: Front panel features ......................................................................... 26
Figure 6: Rear panel features and connectors ................................................ 27
Figure 7: SuperK COMPACT rear panel status LEDs ..................................... 30
Figure 8: SuperK COMPACT side panel labels ............................................... 32
Figure 9: Top level menu – Internal trigger mode ............................................ 36
Figure 10: Top level menu - Software burst mode .......................................... 36
Figure 11: Interlock circuit open notification .................................................... 37
Figure 12: Key switch off notification ............................................................... 37
Figure 13: Reset interlock request ................................................................... 38
Figure 14: Operating mode sub-menu ............................................................. 38
Figure 15: Frequency sub-menu ..................................................................... 40
Figure 16: Power sub-menu ............................................................................ 41
Figure 17: Burst pulses sub-menul .................................................................. 41
Figure 18: Coax trig level sub-menu ................................................................ 42
Figure 19: Watchdog timer sub-menu ............................................................. 42
Figure 20: Display backlight sub-menu ........................................................... 43
Figure 21: Serial number sub-menu ................................................................ 43
Figure 22: Firmware version sub-menu ........................................................... 44
Figure 23: CONTROL panel navigation ........................................................... 51
Figure 24: Dragging panels to a new location in the main window .................. 52
Figure 25: Dragging panels outside the main window ..................................... 52
Figure 26: Toggling panel visibility .................................................................. 53
Figure 27: Quick connect ................................................................................. 53
Figure 28: Status Panel ................................................................................... 54

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Figure 29: CONTROL settings ........................................................................ 56
Figure 30: Watchdog ....................................................................................... 57
Figure 31: View ............................................................................................... 57
Figure 32: Menu items ..................................................................................... 58
Figure 33: Extensions Overview ...................................................................... 61
Figure 34: Trigger mode .................................................................................. 62
Figure 35: External trigger mode ..................................................................... 63
Figure 36: Burst mode ..................................................................................... 64
Figure 37: Gated trigger mode ........................................................................ 64
Figure 38: Gated trigger inverted mode ........................................................... 65
Figure 39: Set power or repetition rate slider selection ................................... 66
Figure 40: Repetition rate slider and text input field ........................................ 66
Figure 41: Repetition rate slider and text input field ........................................ 67
Figure 42: Trigger level slider and text input field ............................................ 67
Figure 43: Burst count slider and text input field ............................................. 67
Figure 44: Application Log window .................................................................. 68
Figure 45: Interlock connected to a door switch - Laser ON ........................... 76
Figure 46: Interlock connected to a door switch - Laser SHUTDOWN ............ 76
Figure 47: Inserting the Collimator into a Holder1 ........................................... 79
Figure 48: Collimator Installed into a SuperK Accessory Receptacle ............. 79
Figure 49: Collimator Installed in a Holder Receptacle ................................... 80
Figure 50: Bus defeater ................................................................................... 81
Figure 51: External Bus circuit - with no accessories used ............................. 81
Figure 52: External Bus circuit - with multiple accessories in a daisy chain .... 81
Figure 53: Optical output delay and jitter vs. the COAX trig input port ............ 82
Figure 54: Analog trigger output timing advance ............................................. 84
Figure 55: Logic pulse output vs. Analog pulse output .................................... 85
Figure 56: Example Pulse Circuit .................................................................... 86
Figure 57: Synchronization with single pulse illumination ............................... 86
Figure 58: Synchronization with pulse burst illumination ................................. 87
Figure 59: Mechanical dimensions .................................................................. 92

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Figure 60: WARRANTY VOID LABEL ............................................................. 93
Figure 61: WARRANTY VOID IF REMOVED - Collimator .............................. 93
Figure 62: Lens cleaning tissue - lint free ........................................................ 97
Figure 63: Optical fiber cleaning tool ............................................................... 97
Figure 64: Correct vs incorrect beam profile ................................................... 98
Figure 65: SuperK VARIA .............................................................................. 100
Figure 66: SuperK SELECT .......................................................................... 101
Figure 67: SELECT AOTF example output - 640nm central wavelength ...... 102
Figure 68: SuperK LLTF Contrast ................................................................. 103
Figure 69: SuperK SPLIT .............................................................................. 104
Figure 70: SuperK CONNECT ....................................................................... 105
Figure 71: Beam parameters ......................................................................... 113
Figure 72: Beam waist location ..................................................................... 113
Figure 73: Full angle beam divergence θ1 .................................................... 114
Figure 74: Beam diameter at waist location W01 .......................................... 114
Figure 75: Waist location from collimator collar face Z01 .............................. 114
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PROCEDURES
Procedure 1: Connecting a PC to the laser using a USB cable ...................... 46
Procedure 2: Turning ON the laser.................................................................. 48
Procedure 3: Turning OFF the laser................................................................ 49
Procedure 4: Relocating panels ...................................................................... 52
Procedure 5: Using the Key Updater tool........................................................ 58
Procedure 6: Using the Log Downloader......................................................... 59
Procedure 7: Connecting the door interlock circuit.......................................... 77
Procedure 8: Connecting power...................................................................... 78
Procedure 9: Installing the Collimator.............................................................. 79
Procedure 10: Installing CONTROL ............................................................... 107

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SECTION 1
SUPERK COMPACT DESCRIPTION
This section provides a description of the laser and its features.
•“Laser Description” on page 21
•“Optical output” on page 22
•“Front panel controls” on page 26
•“Rear panel interfaces” on page 27
•“Configuration and operation overview” on page 29
•“Status LEDs” on page 30
•“Chassis labels” on page 32

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