Pure Photonics PPEB700 User manual

PPEB700 ITLA and micro-ITLA eval board Page 1of 11
ITLA/micro-ITLA eval board
Product Manual –PPEB700
The PPEB700 evaluation board is a convenient tool to control tunable lasers in the ITLA
and micro-ITLA form-factor. It provides the following functionality:
Mechanical base for mounting an ITLA (1 position) or micro-ITLA (2 positions)
Fan with on/off switch to cool the mechanical base
+3.3V, -5.2V and +1.8V internally generated voltages
Switches to select between internal and external voltage supply
Wire terminal input for external power supplies and TxTrace
Selectable Micro-USB and RS-232 communications interface
LED indicators to monitor power supplies
LED indicators to monitor hardware lines (SRQ, DIS, RST, MS)
Switch to control hardware lines (MS, DIS, RST)
Wire terminal output for hardware lines

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1. Unpacking
The device is delivered in a box along with a micro-USB cable, several flex cables for
connecting to the devices and 4 M1.6x8 screws for mounting a micro-ITLA. A wall plug
power supply is included separately.
Remove the device and its accessories from the box. Two of the screws on the post will
be lowered to keep the board in place. In case the product is used for an ITLA, we
recommend to keep the screws in place. In case the product is used for a micro-ITLA, the
screws need to be loosened so that the board can be moved vertically. After installation
of a micro-ITLA, we recommend to lower the screws again.
The board can be powered from the wall-plug power supply. Before plugging it in, please
make sure that the ON/OFF switch is in the OFF position. Select which power supplies
are needed for your operation (+3.3V is minimum requirement). If the switch for a voltage
is set to the external supply and no supply is present, the output is floating.
Attach either the micro-USB or RS-232 connector (DB-9), or both. Before turning on the
power, select the interface you wish to use with the switch.
Install the ITLA or micro-ITLA before turning the board ON.
DO NOT MAKE MODIFICATIONS TO THE POWER SUPPLY SETTINGS,
COMMUNICATION SETTINGS OR CONNECTIONS WHEN THE BOARD IS
POWERED.
Settings for fan and hardware lines can be changed while operating the laser.

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2. System Description
The system is an Aluminum mounting plate with mounting holes for an ITLA and micro-
ITLA (2 different locations). It has an adjustable-height electronics board. Stand-offs are
present to temporarily hold the board in an elevated position while a micro-ITLA is being
installed.
On the left side of the product (with the Pure Photonics logo facing you) the
communications interface connectors are located. The board has a micro-USB and an
RS-232 input, selectable by a switch.
On the upper left and upper side, the voltage supplies are located. On the left, there is a
barrel plug for a wall-plug transformer. On the top is a wire-terminal input where the user
can input individual power supplies (+3.3V, -5.2V, +1.8V) as well as the Tx-Trace input.
Switches on the board allow for selecting between board generated voltage supplies or
for external voltage supplies.
On the right side the interfaces to the tunable laser are located. A standard Samtec ITLA
connector is located on the top, whereas an AIC connector is located below the board to
directly plug onto the micro-ITLA (self-aligned).
At the bottom-right are LED indicators for the hardware lines. A dipswitch controls the
hardware lines and the hardware lines are available on the output wire connector.
On the bottom is a fan which can be turned on and off with a switch.

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3. Mechanical Interface
The mounting plate comes with mounting holes for ITLA (8x M2) and 2 positions for micro-
ITLA (4x M1.6), following MSA definitions. The ITLA can be positioned in one location.
The micro-ITLA in two positioned. As per the below picture (lighted spots indicate the
mounting hole locations).
The ITLA is installed as shown below:
For the installation of the micro-ITLA, the board needs to be raised with the stand-offs
extended (illustrated below). For lowering the board, the stand-offs need to be slided to
one side to be aligned with the hole in the plate.

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With the board raised the micro-ITLA can be positioned in place below the board. It is
recommended to put the front screws already in place and then slide the micro-ITLA in
place (the screws will help finding the mounting holes). The holes in the board allow for
access to the screws below the board. After installation, the board can be lowered gently
ontothe micro-ITLA.The systemisself-aligned andthe micro-ITLA connector willconnect
properly, though care is recommended). A gentle push on the board may be needed to
ensure full contact.
It is recommended to always fixate the position of the board with the nuts on the posts. In
case the ITLA installation is used, the board can rest on the stand-offs. In case the micro-
ITLA is used, the board can rest on the micro-ITLA.
The assembly is equipped with rubber feet. In casea better thermalbehavior is requested,
the feet can be removed and he plate can be installed on a larger heat sink surface
directly.

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4. Electrical interface
The electrical power is supplied by either a wall plug power supply (barrel plug output) or
through individual power supplies on a wire terminal. The single voltage wall plug power
supply voltage is on-board converted to the 3 voltages +3.3V, +1.8V and -5.2V. For each
power supply, it can be individually selected if the on-board supply is used or the external
supply.
A single switch is used to connect the barrel plug input to the board circuit (ON/OFF).
LEDs are indicating if the power supply is operational.
NOTE: the on-board communication chips, as well as the fan are sourced from the
+3.3V supply. At minimum the 3.3V LED needs to be lit.
One input to the wire terminal is the TxTrace input.
The terminal blocks takes wire of AWG 18-24. The below illustration shows how to enter
the wires:
The wire can be removed by pushing a sharp pin (e.g. a tweezer) into the top hole and
then by gently pulling back the wire (see below).

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5. Communications interface
The communication with the module goes either through an RS-232 interface or a micro-
USB interface. The interfaceused isselected with aswitch. The RS-232 interface typically
is connected through a hardware interface on a PC. The micro-USB interface installed
through a USB port. Sometimes an RS-232 to USB dongle can be used to connect an
RS-232 interface to a USB port.
In any case where a USB port is being used, it is recommended to set the interface
parameters to be suitable for serial communications. The latency time should be set to
1ms and packet size needs to be reduced to 64 (both inbound and outbound). This setting
can be accessed through the device manager, properties, advance properties.
The USB interface installs as a serial port. Typically, this happens automatically. In case
the correct driver is missing: http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/CDM/CDM21224_Setup.zip
at http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm.

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6. Connection to the tunable laser
The board is connected to an ITLA through the connector on top of the board. Note that
this connector does not provide the +1.8V supply. The pin-out of the connector is as
shown below:
The supplied flex cables can be used to make a connection. Note that the green cable
always needs to show the company logo upwards. The cable with the AIC connector
(lower cable) is intended for use with the micro-ITLA if installed on the secondary position
(note that the eval board does not provide +1.8V on this position).
For installation of the micro-ITLA, an AIC connector is installed on the bottom side of the
board. As explained in the electrical section, the board can be lowered onto the micro-
ITLA. No flex cable is needed.

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7. Hardware lines
The tunable laser hardware lines (SRQ, MS, DIS, RST) are used to read the status of the
laser. The LEDs are ON when the voltage on the hardware line is low.
Dipswitches are used to change the status of the hardware lines. In normal operation the
dipswitches are set to the right (towards the edge of the board). The RST and the DIS
line are pulled down when the dip is set to the left. When set to the right, typically the
device pulls the lines up. The MS line is both pulled up (dip set right) and down (dip set
left) by the dip switch (the MS line acts on the edge of the signal, not the level).
The state of the different lines can also be monitored through the wire-terminal. The
operation on the wire terminal is explained in the power supply section.

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8. Fan
A micro-fan is installed to provide a bit extra cooling if needed. It can be activated with
the switch next to it.

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9. Software support
Graphical User Interface
Pure Photonics makes a GUI available on its website. Note that operation may be limited
to the basic GUI for non Pure Photonics products.
Command Line Interface
Pure photonics makes a CLI available for communication with the device. The interface
is established by typing it.connect(x,9600) where x is the COM port number.