NKT Photonics SuperK EVO User manual

Item 800-612-01
SuperK EVO
PRODUCT GUIDE
White Light Laser

3
PRODUCT GUIDE
This guide includes the following NKT Photonics Lasers:
SuperK EVO Passively Cooled
Supercontinuum White Light Laser in a Compact Form Factor
SuperK EVO Air Cooled
Supercontinuum White Light Laser with Regulated Cooling Fans
SuperK EVO Water Cooled
Supercontinuum White Light Laser with a Water Cooled Base
SuperK EVO Product Guide
Revision 1.1 11-2021 W-10456

4

5
GUIDE OVERVIEW
This product guide is intended to provide functional, operational and installation
information for the SuperK EVO laser systems. The guide is divided into three
sections:
• SuperK EVO Description – introduces the laser’s theory and functionality, its
interfaces, and chassis variants.
• Installing the Laser – includes the details on how to install the laser chassis
variants and connect it to the management platform and your application
systems.
• Operating the Laser – provides information and procedures on how to
configure communications with the laser and manage its operation.
For an overview safely operate the laser refer to the following document:
• SuperK EVO Safety, Handling and Regulatory Information
Warning: Use of controls or adjustments or performance of procedures other than
those specified herein may result in hazardous radiation exposure.
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 EVO laser series
including its general operational principles, management and interfaces.
• Chapter 2 “Chassis Types” — Describes the laser chassis models available
within the SuperK EVO series.
• Chapter 3 “Mechanical Installation” — Includes information and procedures
on how to correctly install the laser chassis. Procedures within this chapter
focus on providing adequate temperature regulation.
• Chapter 4 “Connecting the Laser” — This chapter provides the information on
how to physically connect the safety interlock, power, the optical collimator,
and the optional interfaces.
• Chapter 5 “Communicating with the Laser” — Includes procedures on
preparing a PC with the laser’s management software and connecting it to
the laser.
• Chapter 6 “Turning on the Laser” — Contains procedures on how to safely
turn the laser emission on and off using the management software.

6
• Chapter 7 “CONTROL Interface” — Includes descriptions and procedures of
CONTROL software menus and panels.
• Chapter 8 “Configuring External Control” — This chapter provides details on
implementing a feedback circuit to modulate the laser’s output power.
• Appendices — The guide includes multiple appendices including laser
specifications, support contact details, accessory descriptions and
miscellaneous procedures supporting the laser operation and installation.
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 table below records the document revision details.
Date Revision Comments
October 2019 1.01 1st release
October 2019 1.02 Numerous technical corrections
November 2019 1.03 CONTROL interface updates and technical corrections
April 2020 1.04 Updated table 20
January 2021 1.10 Release 1.0 includes the following changes:
•Updated support contact details in appendix B.
•Appendix D - Reordered accessories and
removed discontinued product Extend-UV.
March 2021 1.00 Revision rolled back to 1.0 due to internal system
requirements.
November 2021 1.10 Minor errors corrected; updated language and figures
throughout.
Water cooled SuperK EVO – Hose and fitting
connections are updated - see “Installing the water
cooled chassis” on page 38.

7
CONTENTS
Guide Overview .............................................................................................. 5
TABLES ............................................................................................13
FIGURES ..........................................................................................15
PROCEDURES .................................................................................17
Section 1 SUPERK EVO DESCRIPTION 19
1 Laser Description .......................................................................................... 21
Terminology ....................................................................................... 21
Accessories ........................................................................................ 21
CONTROL ......................................................................................... 21
Temperature regulation ...................................................................... 21
Front panel interfaces............................................................................. 22
External bus ....................................................................................... 22
Mounting clamp slot ........................................................................... 22
RS-232 Serial port ............................................................................. 22
Key switch .......................................................................................... 22
Status LEDs ....................................................................................... 23
Pulse Output ...................................................................................... 23
DC power input .................................................................................. 23
External control input ......................................................................... 23
Optical output fiber ............................................................................. 23
Interlock ............................................................................................. 23
Ethernet ............................................................................................. 23
Optical output ......................................................................................... 23
Collimator ........................................................................................... 23
Configuration and operation overview .................................................... 24
CONTROL application ....................................................................... 24
Custom laser control .......................................................................... 25

8
Laser emission stabilization using feedback ...................................... 25
External laser emission control .......................................................... 25
Key switch and interlock safety .......................................................... 25
Synchronizing external equipment ..................................................... 26
Laser accessory management ........................................................... 26
Status LEDs............................................................................................ 28
Chassis labels ........................................................................................ 29
2 Chassis Types .............................................................................................. 31
Passively cooled SuperK EVO ............................................................... 31
Air cooled SuperK EVO ..........................................................................31
Water cooled SuperK EVO .....................................................................32
Section 2 INSTALLING THE LASER 33
3 Mechanical Installation ................................................................................. 35
General installation requirements ...................................................... 35
Installing the passively cooled chassis ...................................................35
Mounting considerations .................................................................... 36
Installing the air cooled chassis .............................................................. 37
Air cooled SuperK EVO ..................................................................... 37
Air flow considerations ....................................................................... 38
Installing the water cooled chassis .........................................................38
Water cooled SuperK EVO ................................................................ 38
Cooling water flow specifications ....................................................... 39
4 Connecting the Laser ................................................................................... 41
Connecting the Safety Interlock .............................................................. 41
Simplified Interlock Operation ............................................................ 41
Connecting Power .................................................................................. 43
Connecting the optical output (collimator installation) ............................ 44
Back reflection ................................................................................... 44
Installing the collimator ...................................................................... 44
Connecting the External Bus and pulse interfaces................................. 46
External Bus ...................................................................................... 46

9
Connecting the External Bus ............................................................. 46
Pulsed Output .................................................................................... 47
Section 3 OPERATING THE LASER 49
5 Communicating with the Laser ..................................................................... 51
CONTROL software ...............................................................................51
Installing the software ........................................................................ 51
Connecting the Laser to CONTROL .......................................................51
USB connection ................................................................................. 51
Ethernet connection ........................................................................... 52
Grouping connections ........................................................................ 54
6 Turning on the Laser .................................................................................... 57
Safety .....................................................................................................57
Preparation .............................................................................................57
Controlling the laser emissions............................................................... 58
Turning on the laser ........................................................................... 58
Error ................................................................................................... 58
Turning off the laser ........................................................................... 59
7 CONTROL Interface ..................................................................................... 61
CONTROL overview ...............................................................................61
Relocating panels .............................................................................. 62
Toggling the panels visible ................................................................. 63
Connecting to the laser ...................................................................... 63
Status panel............................................................................................ 64
Status Indicators ................................................................................ 64
Interlock Reset (button) ...................................................................... 65
System Info ........................................................................................ 65
Measurements ................................................................................... 65
Emission button ................................................................................. 65
CONTROL Settings ................................................................................ 66
Ethernet ............................................................................................. 66
Watchdog ........................................................................................... 67

10
Clock .................................................................................................. 68
View ................................................................................................... 68
CONTROL Menu .................................................................................... 69
Key Updater tool ................................................................................ 69
Log Downloader ................................................................................. 70
Extensions Overview ......................................................................... 72
Control Panel – Operating Mode ............................................................73
Operating modes ............................................................................... 73
Application Log panel ............................................................................. 74
Device Monitor........................................................................................ 75
8 Configuring External Control ........................................................................ 77
Power stabilization using external feedback ...........................................77
Configuring external feedback ........................................................... 78
External enable ....................................................................................... 78
Configuring External enable .............................................................. 79
Appendices
A Specifications ............................................................................................... 83
B Service and Support Information .................................................................. 85
Servicing the laser .................................................................................. 85
Opening the laser chassis ................................................................. 85
WARRANTY VOID IF REMOVED label ............................................. 85
Support contact details ........................................................................... 85
Support website ................................................................................. 85
Shipping address ............................................................................... 85
C Firmware Upgrade ........................................................................................ 87
Upgrading the firmware .......................................................................... 87
D Accessories .................................................................................................. 89
SuperK VARIA........................................................................................ 90
SuperK SELECT..................................................................................... 91
SuperK LLTF .......................................................................................... 93
SuperK SPLIT......................................................................................... 94

11
SuperK CONNECT................................................................................. 95
E CONTROL Software ..................................................................................... 97
Installing CONTROL ............................................................................... 97
F Troubleshooting and Errors ........................................................................ 103
Troubleshooting ....................................................................................103
Error codes and recovery .....................................................................104
F Unpacking and Packing the Laser .............................................................. 105
Unpacking the laser ..............................................................................105
Accessory kit .................................................................................... 105
Prepare and pack the laser for shipping ............................................... 106

12

13
TABLES
Table 1: Status LEDs........................................................................................ 28
Table 2: Chassis labels .................................................................................... 29
Table 3: Passively cooled SuperK EVO installation specifications................... 35
Table 4: Air flow considerations........................................................................ 38
Table 5: Chiller and hose/fittings recommendations......................................... 39
Table 6: Connecting the External Bus.............................................................. 46
Table 7: Pulsed Output connection – NIM output pulse ................................... 47
Table 8: Operating modes ................................................................................ 74
Table 9: Device monitor parameters ................................................................ 75
Table 10: External control input parameters..................................................... 77
Table 11: Optical ............................................................................................. 83
Table 12: Interfaces ......................................................................................... 83
Table 13: Mechanical dimensions ................................................................... 84
Table 14: Electrical ........................................................................................... 84
Table 15: Compliances..................................................................................... 84
Table 16: SuperK EVO accessories ................................................................ 89
Table 17: VARIA specifications ........................................................................ 90
Table 18: SELECT AOTF types ....................................................................... 92
Table 19: LLTF Contrast model specifications ................................................. 93
Table 20: SPLIT wavelength ranges ................................................................ 94
Table 21: Fiber delivery specifications ............................................................. 95
Table 22: Laser troubleshooting .................................................................... 103
Table 23: Errors codes and recovery action .................................................. 104

14

15
FIGURES
Figure 1: SuperK EVO (passive) – general view ............................................. 21
Figure 2: SuperK EVO front panel ................................................................... 22
Figure 3: SuperK collimator ............................................................................. 24
Figure 4: Pulse Output port signal as measured by an oscilloscope ............... 26
Figure 5: SuperK EVO status LEDs ................................................................ 28
Figure 6: SuperK EVO chassis panels ............................................................ 30
Figure 7: Passively cooled SuperK EVO - heat conductive plate .................... 31
Figure 8: Air Cooled SuperK EVO - air flow .................................................... 32
Figure 9: Water cooled SuperK EVO - water flow ........................................... 32
Figure 10: Installing the passively cooled SuperK EVO ................................. 36
Figure 11: Bottom aluminum plate and screw hole locations .......................... 37
Figure 12: Air cooled SuperK EVO – airflow clearance ................................... 38
Figure 13: Water cooled SuperK EVO with chiller ........................................... 39
Figure 14: Interlock connected to a door switch - laser ON ............................. 42
Figure 15: Interlock connected to a door switch - laser SHUTDOWN ............. 42
Figure 16: Inserting a collimator into a holder ................................................. 45
Figure 17: Collimator installed into a SuperK accessory receptacle ............... 45
Figure 18: External Bus Circuit - with no accessories used ............................ 46
Figure 19: External Bus circuit - two or more accessories in a daisy chain ..... 47
Figure 20: Pulse synchronization .................................................................... 48
Figure 21: Pulse (NIM) trigger delay control .................................................... 48
Figure 22: CONTROL panel navigation ........................................................... 61
Figure 23: Relocating panels within CONTROL .............................................. 62
Figure 24: Dragging panels outside the main window ..................................... 62
Figure 25: Toggling panel visibility .................................................................. 63
Figure 26: Quick Connect ................................................................................ 63
Figure 27: Status panel ................................................................................... 64
Figure 28: CONTROL settings ........................................................................ 66

16
Figure 29: Ethernet setting .............................................................................. 66
Figure 30: Watchdog ....................................................................................... 67
Figure 31: Clock settings ................................................................................. 68
Figure 32: View ............................................................................................... 68
Figure 33: Menu items ..................................................................................... 69
Figure 34: Extensions Overview ...................................................................... 72
Figure 35: Operating mode ............................................................................. 73
Figure 36: Application Log window .................................................................. 74
Figure 37: Setting External feedback mode .................................................... 78
Figure 38: External Enable Trigger vs optical output rise ................................ 79
Figure 39: Setting External enable mode ........................................................ 79
Figure 40: Warranty void label ......................................................................... 85
Figure 41: VARIA connected to a SuperK EVO Laser .................................... 90
Figure 42: SELECT connected to a SuperK EVO ........................................... 91
Figure 43: SELECT AOTF example output - 640nm central wavelength ........ 92
Figure 44: SuperK LLTF Contrast connected to a SuperK EVO ..................... 93
Figure 45: SuperK SPLIT connected to a SuperK EVO .................................. 94
Figure 46: SuperK CONNECT ......................................................................... 95
Figure 47: Accessory kit components ............................................................ 105
Figure 48: SuperK EVO packaging ............................................................... 106
white

17
PROCEDURES
Procedure 1 Connecting the door interlock circuit........................................... 43
Procedure 2 Connecting power ....................................................................... 43
Procedure 3 Installing the collimator ............................................................... 44
Procedure 4 Connecting over USB ................................................................. 52
Procedure 5 Connecting a PC to the laser using Ethernet.............................. 53
Procedure 6 Grouping connections in a collection .......................................... 55
Procedure 7 Turning on the Laser................................................................... 58
Procedure 8 Turning off the Laser................................................................... 59
Procedure 9 Relocating panels ....................................................................... 62
Procedure 10 Using the Key Updater tool....................................................... 69
Procedure 11 Using the Log Downloader........................................................ 71
Procedure 12 Upgrading the firmware.............................................................. 87
Procedure 13 Installing CONTROL .................................................................. 97
Procedure 14 Unpacking the laser ................................................................. 105
Procedure 15 Packing the laser ..................................................................... 107

18

19
SECTION 1
SUPERK EVO DESCRIPTION
This section provides a description of the laser and its chassis types.
•“Laser Description” on page 21
•“Chassis Types” on page 31

20