THORLABS SL1310V1 Series User manual

SL1310V1 Series
MEMS-VCSEL Swept Laser
User Guide

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Warning Symbol Definitions ..........................................................................................2
Chapter 2 Safety................................................................................................................................3
Chapter 3 Description.......................................................................................................................5
3.1. Basic Operation...............................................................................................................5
3.2. Port Descriptions ............................................................................................................5
3.3. Front and Back Panel Overview.....................................................................................8
3.4. Packing List .....................................................................................................................9
Chapter 4 General Operation .........................................................................................................10
4.1. User Interface ................................................................................................................10
4.2. Laser Operation.............................................................................................................11
4.2.1. Turning ON the Laser..........................................................................................................11
4.2.2. Turning Off the Laser ..........................................................................................................12
4.2.3. Daily operation ....................................................................................................................12
4.2.4. Adjusting the Polarization Controllers .................................................................................13
Chapter 5 Care and Maintenance ..................................................................................................14
5.1. Maintenance: Optical Cleaning ....................................................................................15
5.2. Service............................................................................................................................15
5.3. Accessories and Customization .................................................................................. 15
Chapter 6 Specifications ................................................................................................................16
Chapter 7 Trouble Shooting........................................................................................................... 17
Chapter 8 Certificate of Compliance .............................................................................................18
Chapter 9 Regulatory......................................................................................................................19
Chapter 10 Thorlabs Worldwide Contacts......................................................................................20

MEMS-VCSEL Swept Laser Chapter 1: Warning Symbol Definitions
22797-D02, Rev B, May 13, 2014 Page 2
Chapter 1 Warning Symbol Definitions
Below is a list of warning symbols you may encounter in this manual or on your device.
Symbol Description
Direct Current
Alternating Current
Both Direct and Alternating Current
Earth Ground Terminal
Protective Conductor Terminal
Frame or chassis Terminal
Equipotentiality
On (Supply)
Off (Supply)
In Position of a Bi-Stable Push Control
Out Position of a Bi-Stable Push Control
Caution, Risk of Electric Shock
Caution, Hot Surface
Caution, Risk of Danger
Warning, Laser Radiation
Caution, Spinning Blades May Cause Harm

MEMS-VCSEL Swept Laser Chapter 2: Safety
22797-D02, Rev B, May 13, 2014 Page 3
Chapter 2 Safety
ATTENTION! Important User Information
Please read the instruction manual carefully before operating the MEMS-VCSEL Swept Laser.
All statements regarding safety and technical specifications will only apply when the unit is
operated correctly.
Check the supply voltage of the system before plugging in the Swept Laser. Make sure the
included power cord for the Swept Laser is connected to a properly grounded
power outlet (100 – 240 VAC; 50 – 60 Hz).
Transportation and delivery may cause the Swept Laser to be warm or cool upon receipt. Please
wait for the unit to reach room temperature before attempting to operate.
Use a flat, dry, and stable surface to set up the system.
WARNING! High Voltage
Before applying power to your system, make sure that the protective conductor of the 3 conductor
mains power cord is correctly connected to the protective earth contact of the socket outlet.
Improper grounding can cause electric shock resulting in severe injury or even death!
Make sure that the line voltage rating agrees with your local supply and that the appropriate fuse
is installed.
Do not remove cover; there are no user serviceable parts inside. Do not operate without cover
installed. To avoid electrical shock the power cord protective grounding conductor must be
connected to ground. Refer servicing to qualified personnel.
WARNING! Laser Radiation
Do not, under any circumstances look into the optical output when the unit is operating.
The laser radiation is from 1200 to 1400 nm and is not visible to the human eye, but it can
seriously damage your eyesight. Do not look into the aperture. Do not look into the end of the
fiber. Only view the end of the fiber through a fiber scope when the system is off and unplugged
to ensure there is no exposure to laser light.
LASER RADIATION
DO NOT VIEW DIRECTLY WITH
OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS
CLASS 1M LASER PRODUCT
! !

MEMS-VCSEL Swept Laser Chapter 2: Safety
22797-D02, Rev B, May 13, 2014 Page 4
WARNING! Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
All types of electronic components, particularly integrated circuits, are sensitive to Electrostatic
Discharge (ESD). ESD is a general reason for failure of electronic equipment. The total operating
time can be reduced if precautions against ESD-damage are not taken.
ALWAYS wear an ESD wrist strap connected to the ESD terminal whenever handling the swept
source. See Figure 2.
Figure 1 ESD wrist wrap. The wrist strap is connected to ground to ensure that no electrostatic field
is built up.
CAUTION
Do not obstruct air-ventilation into the bottom of the swept source engine or out of the exhaust
fan on the rear of the unit!
Mobile telephones, cellular phones or other radio transmitters are not to be used within the range
of three meters of this unit since the electromagnetic field intensity may exceed the maximum
allowed disturbance values according to EN50082-1.
WARNING! Important Warranty Information
Do not open the unit under any circumstance.
There are no user serviceable parts in this product. Opening the device will void your warranty.
Any modification or servicing of this system by unqualified personnel renders Thorlabs free of
any liability.
CAUTION! Packing and Return Information
This device can only be returned when packed into the complete original packaging, including all
foam packing inserts. If necessary, ask for replacement packaging.
!!
! !
! !
!
!

MEMS-VCSEL Swept Laser Chapter 3: Description
22797-D02, Rev B, May 13, 2014 Page 5
Chapter 3 Description
The SL1310V1 MEMS-VCSEL Swept Laser is a benchtop swept laser source designed for swept-source optical
coherence tomography (SS-OCT) applications. This source is based on a proprietary microelectromechanical
system vertical cavity surface emitting laser (MEMS-VCSEL) design. The SL1310V1 benchtop swept laser source
rapidly sweeps across a broad tuning range centered around 1300 nm. Integrated drive electronics are optimized
for broadband unidirectional sweeping with a highly linear trajectory. The source also includes a Mach Zehnder
interferometer “k-clock” for optical clocking data acquisition.
3.1. Basic Operation
Figure 2 Schematic of the MEMS-VCSEL Swept Laser
The figure above shows the diagram of the MEMS-VCSEL swept laser, where the blue path represents single
mode fiber and the black path represents electric connections. The MEMS-VCSEL swept laser consists of a
MEMS-VCSEL cavity, a booster optical amplifier (BOA), a fiber-optic monitoring network and signal generation
circuits. The cavity module includes a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with a micro-
electromechanical system (MEMS) actuator to tune the emission wavelength. The optical output of the MEMS-
VCSEL cavity is connected to the optical input of the BOA. A polarization controller (PC1) is used to control the
polarization states of the light in the fiber when entering the BOA. Another polarization controller (PC2) is used to
control the output fiber polarization before the main laser output.
3.2. Port Descriptions
The laser aperture is the main optical output port of the laser. It is designed to use with SMF-28 single mode fiber
with FC/APC connector. Fibers must be cleaned and inspected before connecting to this port.
A number of monitoring photodiodes and signals are provided:
1. The Cavity Monitor signal is from the MEMS-VCSEL cavity before the BOA amplification. It is mainly
used for diagnostic purpose; the user does not need to monitor this signal for normal operation of the
laser. This signal can be accessed on the back panel of the laser and is designed to drive a 50 Ohm load.
MEMS VCSEL
Cavity
Monitoring
Photodiode
Input Optical
Isolator
Output Optical
Isolator
Polarization
Controller 1
Polarization
Controller 2 Laser
Aperture
Monitoring
Photodiode
DAQ
k-Clock
Laser
Monitor
Cavity
Monitor
DAQ Sweep
Trigger
Booster
Optical
Amplifier
(BOA)
MZI Clock
Module
(FC/APC)
(SMA)
λ Sweep
Trigger
(SMA)(SMA)(SMA)(SMA)
(PC1) (PC2)

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7. The I
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2
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aser Monit
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ize the lase
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ned to drive
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o
Fi
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3
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ure 3, the tr
a
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ity signal, a
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SB Port is f
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AQ k-Clock
a
ser. This M
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rossings th
a
ings are con
v
for OCT dat
s
ignal can be
λ
Sweep Tri
g
r
ated for eac
h
ser and is de
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terlock swi
t
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o
rsignal is fr
o
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at this sign
a
s
change du
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intensity sig
a
50 Ohm loa
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rigger sign
a
e
start of las
e
e
trigger the
o
n the back p
a
3
Exampl
e
a
ces corresp
d (3) Red, D
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o
r production
signal is the
Z
I monitors t
h
a
t are equall
y
v
erted into di
g
a acquisition
accessed o
n
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ger signal
h
sweep of fu
signed to dri
v
t
ch (shown in
o
m the BOA
a
a
l is monitore
e
to temper
a
nal. This sig
n
d.
a
l is the swe
p
e
r wavelengt
h
input connec
t
a
nel of the la
s
e
monitorin
g
ond to the f
o
A
Q sweep tri
g
purposes o
n
output from
a
h
e laser out
p
y
spaced in
g
ital pulses b
when conn
e
the back pa
n
is an optical
l
ll range of w
a
v
e 50 Ohm lo
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a
a
mplified out
p
d during ope
a
ture, the P
C
n
al port can b
p
t laser
A
-sc
a
h
sweep that
t
or on an os
c
s
er and is de
s
g
si
g
nals fro
m
o
llowing: (1)
G
g
ger signal.
A
n
ly. This conn
a
monitoring
p
ut waveleng
t
optical frequ
y internal de
t
e
cted to the
“
n
el of the las
e
l
y generated
a
velengths.
T
a
d.
a
safety featu
p
ut and repre
s
e
ration of the
C
1 polarizatio
e accessed
o
a
n synchroni
z
can be used
c
illoscope or
s
igned to dri
v
m
the MEMS
-
G
reen, Cavit
y
A
ll signals ar
e
ection is not
Mach-Zehnd
e
t
h and gene
r
ency domai
n
t
ection circui
t
“
external clo
c
e
r and is desi
signal whic
h
T
his signal ca
n
re for autom
a
s
ents the ma
i
laser. Becau
n controller
s
o
n the back p
z
ation signal.
for OCT me
a
a data acqui
s
v
e 50 Ohm lo
a
-
VCSEL sw
e
y
intensity si
g
e
50 Ohm ter
m
required for
n
e
r interferom
e
r
ate interfere
n
n
for the sw
e
t
s and can b
e
c
k” input of a
gned to driv
e
h
consists of
n
be access
e
a
tically switc
h
Chapter 3:
D
i
n output of t
h
se the BOA
i
s
hould be a
d
anel of the la
The rising e
d
a
suremen
t
.
T
sition card.
T
a
d.
e
pt laser
g
nal, (2) Yell
o
m
inated.
n
ormal opera
t
e
ter (MZI) int
e
n
ce fringe si
g
e
pt laser. Th
e
used as th
e
data acquis
i
e
50 Ohm loa
d
single pulse
s
e
d on the bac
h
ing off the la
s
D
escription
Page 6
h
e laser. It
i
nput fiber
d
justed to
ser and is
d
ge of this
T
his signal
T
his signal
o
w, Laser
t
ion of the
e
grated in
g
nals with
ese zero-
e
sampling
ition card.
d
.
s
that are
k panel of
s
er.

M
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EMS-VCS
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2797-D02, R
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Fi
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ure
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In Fi
g
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L Swept Las
e
e
v B, May 13,
2
4
Exampl
e
g
ure 4, the tr
a
l (yellow), an
d
e
r
2
014
e
monitorin
g
a
ces corresp
o
d
(3) DAQ k-
c
g
si
g
nals fro
m
o
nd to the foll
c
lock signals
m
the MEMS
-
owing: (1) D
A
(purple). All
s
-
VCSEL sw
e
A
Q sweep tri
g
s
ignals are 5
0
e
pt laser on
d
g
ger signal (
r
0
Ohm termin
Chapter 3:
D
d
ifferent tim
e
r
ed); (2) Las
e
ated.
D
escription
Page 7
e
scales
e
r intensity

MEMS-VCSEL Swept Laser Chapter 3: Description
22797-D02, Rev B, May 13, 2014 Page 8
3.3. Front and Back Panel Overview
Figure 5 SL1310V1 MEMS-VCSEL Laser front view
Figure 6 SL1310V1 MEMS-VCSEL Laser back view
Not Used
Laser On
Indicato
r
Not Used
Not Used
System Ready
Indicator
Power Switch
Power On Indicator
Over or Under
Tem
p
Indicator
Laser Enable
Button
Cavity Intensit
y
Monito
r
SM
A
DAQ Trigge
r
BNC
Laser Intensit
y
Monito
r
BNC
Line Cord
Output Polarization
Controller Adjustment
Knobs
Input Polarization
Controller Adjustment
Knobs
USB Port
Not Used
DAQ k-Clock
Laser Output
FC/APC
λSweep
Trigge
r
SM
A
Interlock
Connector
Fuse Tray

MEMS-VCSEL Swept Laser Chapter 3: Description
22797-D02, Rev B, May 13, 2014 Page 9
3.4. Packing List
The MEMS-VCSEL Swept Laser system is a self-contained laser system; it does not need any additional
equipment, instrument, or controls in order to operate. Please refer to the packing list below to ensure that the
system is complete. If any item is missing or damaged, contact Thorlabs for assistance.
Components Quantity
Swept Source Engine 1
Power Cord, US Only 1
Manual 1