THORLABS TXP Series Operation Manual
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THORLABS TXP Series Operation Manual

THORLABS TXP Series Operation Manual

External cavity laser
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Operation Manual
Thorlabs TXP Series
External Cavity Laser
ECL5000D
2004

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  • Page 1 Operation Manual Thorlabs TXP Series External Cavity Laser ECL5000D 2004...
  • Page 2 Version: 2.11 Date: 13-Jun-06 © Copyright 2004, Thorlabs GmbH, Germany...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Contents Page General description of the module 1.1 Safety 1.2 Warranty 1.3 Features 1.3.1 General functions 1.4 Technical Data 1.5 Operating Elements at the Front Panel 1.6 Installing and removing Cards 1.7 Theory of Operation Getting Started 2.1 Preconditions 2.2 The Graphical User Interface (GUI) 2.2.1 Start the GUI 2.2.2...
  • Page 4 3.5.2 Wavelength and Power Modulation Panels 3.5.3 Device Status Panel 3.5.4 The Trigger in- / output Service and Maintenance 4.1 General remarks 4.2 Troubleshooting Listings 5.1 List of Acronyms / Abbreviations 5.2 List of Figures 5.3 List of possible Status Messages 5.4 Addresses...
  • Page 5 Therefore, please let us know about possible criticism or ideas. We and our international partners are looking forward to hearing from you. Thorlabs GmbH This part of the instruction manual contains every specific information on how to operate an ECL5000D Laser. A general description is followed by explanations on how to operate the unit by means of the graphical user interface.

  • Page 7: General Description Of The Module

    1.1 Safety General description of the module 1.1 Safety Attention INVISIBLE LASER RADIATION DO NOT VIEW DIRECTLY WITH OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS! CLASS 1M LASER PRODUCT The modules ‘ECL5000’ are class 1M laser sources. Emitted wavelengths and optical power: see label on the ECL5000 CAUTION –...
  • Page 8 1.1 Safety Attention The laser modules supplied by Thorlabs GmbH are class 1M laser systems. However, if you collimate or focus the laser beam you will create a class 3R or class 3B laser system! In that case additional safety measures have to be observed!

  • Page 9: Warranty

    1.2 Warranty 1.2 Warranty warrants material and production of the ECL5000D for a period of 24 Thorlabs GmbH months starting with the date of shipment. During this warranty period Thorlabs will see to defaults by repair or by exchange if these ,are entitled to warranty.

  • Page 10: Features

    1.3 Features 1.3 Features 1.3.1 General functions The external cavity laser ECL5000D is designed for leading manufacturers of test and measurement equipment, fiber optic components, spectroscopy and other basic research applications. It combines a very fast tuneability over the full range of the C, L and S band with high accuracy and repeatability.

  • Page 11: Technical Data

    1.4 Technical Data 1.4 Technical Data Wavelength Range 1519 … 1630 nm Mode Hops Tuning Speed continuous 0 – 130 nm/s Tuning Speed step 1nm: < 30ms Including rise and settling time 10nm: < 100ms 100nm: < 800ms Wavelength Resolution 0.6 pm Wavelength Repeatability +/- 1 pm...

  • Page 12: Operating Elements At The Front Panel

    1.5 Operating Elements at the Front Panel 1.5 Operating Elements at the Front Panel LED’s Laser Class Ejector Handle Optical Output Warning Sign FC / APC changeable adapter Figure 1 ECL5000D operating elements LED’s LED’s for 1) Card selected, 2) Laser on and 3) Error occurred Analog voltage input for wavelength tuning / modulation (-10 …...

  • Page 13: Installing And Removing Cards

    1.6 Installing and removing Cards 1.6 Installing and removing Cards The Thorlabs TXP series mainframes and cards are ‘Hot-Swappable’, that means you do not have to switch off the mainframe while exchanging cards: • Loosen the four mounting screws on top and below the ejector handle (see Figure 1) •...

  • Page 14: Theory Of Operation

    1.7 Theory of Operation 1.7 Theory of Operation The heart of the ECL5000D is the external cavity laser (ECL). The principal construction of such a laser is shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 Principle set-up of the external cavity laser The active laser crystal is designated here as (3).
  • Page 15 1.7 Theory of Operation Mode-hop Area O UT Operating Area (Mode-hop free) >0 (Standby) λ Allowed Wavelength Range Mode-hop Area Operating Area (Mode-hop free) >0 (Standby) λ Allowed Wavelength Range Figure 3 Mode-hop free operating areas of the ECL The bended curve shows schematically the maximum allowed output power vs. wavelength for a mainly mode-hop free operation.

  • Page 16: Getting Started

    2.1 Preconditions 2 Getting Started 2.1 Preconditions 1) Precondition: you have installed and initialized the connection between the TXP and your PC according to the manual of the corresponding TXP main- frame. 2) You have installed the card specific software driver (is normally installed together with the TXP Administrator and TXP Explorer.

  • Page 17: The Graphical User Interface (Gui)

    2.2 The Graphical User Interface (GUI) 2.2 The Graphical User Interface (GUI) 2.2.1 Start the GUI To start the graphics user interface you have two possibilities: 1. Use the TXP Explorer or 2. Directly start the program: TXP_ECL.exe (ECL5000D) 1) Start the TXP-Explorer and connect to the desired mainframe .
  • Page 18 2.2 The Graphical User Interface (GUI) Now the card specific operating software (GUI) starts. Figure 5 The ECL5000D GUI Surface ECL5000D / page 12...
  • Page 19 2.2 The Graphical User Interface (GUI) Alternatively: 2) Start TXP_ECL.exe directly. In this case you must connect to the desired card in the corresponding mainframe through the ‘Connection’ menu. Clicking ‘Connect’ opens the selection window for the mainframe IP-address (see Figure 6). If you are using an USB based TXP, the IP address is ‘localhost’.
  • Page 20 2.2 The Graphical User Interface (GUI) Figure 7 Select Portnumber and Timeout Figure 8 The card selection window Hitting ‘OK’ starts the ECL Graphics User Interface (see Figure 5 The ECL5000D GUI Surface). ECL5000D / page 14...

  • Page 21: Operate The Ecl The First Time

    2.2 The Graphical User Interface (GUI) 2.2.2 Operate the ECL the first time If you start the GUI for the first time the unit runs a startup sequence and waits until thermal stability has been reached. Then you can see a red graphics being created in the operating range window: The red region comprises the operation area that shows the maximum output power versus wavelength.
  • Page 22 2.2 The Graphical User Interface (GUI) Figure 9 Operate the ECL the first time The blue cursor jumps to the position corresponding to the new parameters. If you try to enter values which would bring the laser out of the stable operating area, the entered values are corrected automatically until the allowed limit is reached.
  • Page 23 2.2 The Graphical User Interface (GUI) NOTE If you switch on the ECL5000D allow for some 2-3 minutes to warm up until the message “Startup Sequence Running” disappears! Now click the button ‘Laser On’. The button text changes to ‘Laser Off’, the corresponding indicator field turns green and the laser switches on.

  • Page 24: Ecl5500D Operation In Detail

    3.1 Principal Modes of Operation 3 ECL5500D Operation in Detail 3.1 Principal Modes of Operation The ECL5000D offers three principal modes of operation: • Operation at a fixed, predetermined wavelength • Operation in sweep mode. The output wavelength changes according to a predefined time schedule •...

  • Page 25: The Drop Down Menus

    3.2 The drop down Menus 3.2 The drop down Menus 3.2.1 The ‘File’ menu These menu items allow to store and recall the current settings for the ECL module in a file. File extension is ‘.txs’. ‘Exit’ quits the program. 3.2.2 The ‘Connection’...
  • Page 26 3.2 The drop down Menus 2) Click the button ‘Start Wavelength Adjustment’ Now type in the measured wavelength and hit ‘OK’. This finishes the calibra- tion procedure. Start Startup Sequence If the laser, e.g. due to mechanical vibrations, has made a mode hop, the frequency calibration of the system is no more precise.

  • Page 27: The 'Cards' Menu

    3.2 The drop down Menus 3.2.4 The ‘Cards’ menu Card Info shows you detailed information about the ECL card: Figure 10 The card information window You can see the serial number of the card, all essential dates like the next calibration ®...

  • Page 28: The 'Help' Menu

    3.2 The drop down Menus Figure 11 The communication settings Depending on the bandwidth and reliability of your connection between TXP and PC, you can select update rates from 10 seconds down to 0.03 s. This means, that all actual data you see on the GUI are updated with this time constant.

  • Page 29: The Fixed Wavelength Operating Mode

    3.3 The Fixed Wavelength Operating Mode 3.3 The Fixed Wavelength Operating Mode Figure 12 The Fixed Wavelength Mainscreen ECL5000D / page 23...

  • Page 30: Operating Mode Panel

    3.3 The Fixed Wavelength Operating Mode 3.3.1 Operating Mode Panel Here you can select the operating mode of the laser. You have the choice between the fixed wavelength mode, the sweep mode and the step mode. Fixed Wavelength Mode: You can enter wavelength and power manually, static operation (see 3.3) Sweep Mode: You enter start- and stop wavelength and the laser scans once or continuously between both.

  • Page 31: Laser Control And Coherence Control

    3.3 The Fixed Wavelength Operating Mode 3.3.3 Laser Control and Coherence Control The button marked with ‘Laser On’ / ‘Laser Off’ switches the laser output power between the selected output power and a minimum value (< -20 dBm). Attention It is not possible to ‘switch off’ the laser! Due to the physical proper- ties of the laser, the laser must still be running and delivering power ( <...

  • Page 32: Wavelength And Power Modulation Panels

    3.3 The Fixed Wavelength Operating Mode The red surrounded region comprises the operation area, in which no mode hops occur. You can select any wavelength and any power within this graph for mode-hop free operation. The little blue hair-cross (here in the middle) shows you your actual settings. If you work with the GUI all entries you make, which would bring the laser out of this mode-hop free region are corrected automatically to the maximal allowed values.
  • Page 33 3.3 The Fixed Wavelength Operating Mode Umod in Laser l imit Popt out Popt max Figure 13 Power Modulation Clipping. Input voltages which would lead to an output power above the mode-hop free region are clipped too. E.g. if the maximum output power of the laser is 3.2 mW, all input voltages above 3.2 V would yield the same output power.
  • Page 34 3.3 The Fixed Wavelength Operating Mode Umod in Laser l imit Popt out Popt max Figure 13 Power Modulation Clipping (no offset) Umod in Laser limit DC offset 3.5 V 0.5 V Umod in Laser li mit DC GUI ∆ U1.5 V DC offset ext.

  • Page 35: Device Status Panel

    3.3 The Fixed Wavelength Operating Mode Umod in Umod in Laser li mit Laser li mit 3. 5 V 3. 5 V DC offset DC offset 0. 5 V 0. 5 V Popt out Popt max 3.5 mW 0.5 mw <0.01 mw Figure 15 Power Modulation with correct DC offset...

  • Page 36: Trigger In- / Output

    3.3 The Fixed Wavelength Operating Mode 3.3.7 Trigger In- / Output In the fixed wavelength mode no trigger input or output signal has a function. ECL5000D / page 30...

  • Page 37: The Sweep Mode

    3.4 The Sweep Mode 3.4 The Sweep Mode Figure 16 The Sweep Mode mainscreen ECL5000D / page 31...

  • Page 38: The 'Sweep Control' Panel

    3.4 The Sweep Mode 3.4.1 The ‘Sweep Control’ Panel The graphical window shows you the time-behavior of your laser wavelength. You can set all parameters in the display fields above. You can run the sweep mode only once (triggered or un-triggered) or continuously. The sweep control panel offers a graphical representation of the sweep, 7 numerical input fields, one checkbox and 3 operating buttons.
  • Page 39 3.4 The Sweep Mode • Hold Start Wavelength: The time the laser stays on the start wavelength • Ramp Forward: Rise time for the wavelength to reach the target wavelength • Hold Target Wavelength: The time the laser stays on the target wavelength •...

  • Page 40: Wavelength And Power Modulation Panels

    3.4 The Sweep Mode No Trigger: start the sweep simply by pressing ‘Single or ‘Continuous’’ With Trigger: hit ‘Trigger, then the system waits for the next hardware trigger signal at the corresponding BNC input jack (see 1.5). The input trigger is a TTL signal. At the rising edge of the trigger signal the wavelength sweep starts.

  • Page 41: The Step Mode

    3.5 The Step Mode 3.5 The Step Mode Figure 17 The Step Mode Mainscreen 3.5.1 The Step Control Panel The step control panel offers a graphical representation of the step-scan, 5 numerical input fields and 4 operating buttons. ECL5000D / page 35...

  • Page 42: Wavelength And Power Modulation Panels

    3.5 The Step Mode In the first two numerical fields you enter the start- and stop wavelength of the step- scan. If you want to step up, the start wavelength is lower than the stop wavelength, if you want to step down vice versa. In the third field enter the desired output power.

  • Page 43: Service And Maintenance

    4.1 General remarks 4 Service and Maintenance 4.1 General remarks In normal operation the ECL5000D card does not need any service. If highest precision of the measurements is vital for you, you should have recalibrated the ECL5000D every two years. You can see the due date of calibration in the card info- menu of the card driver (refer to 3.2.4) 4.2 Troubleshooting Card does not work at all :...

  • Page 44: Listings

    5.1 List of Acronyms / Abbreviations 5 Listings 5.1 List of Acronyms / Abbreviations External Cavity Laser FWHM Full Width Half Maximum Graphical User Interface Light Emitting Diode Relative Intensity Noise SMSR Side Mode Suppression Ratio Signal to Source-Spontaneous Emission Ratio STSSER Signal to Total Source-Spontaneous Emission Ratio 5.2 List of Figures...

  • Page 45: List Of Possible Status Messages

    A mode hop occurred. That means your wavelength “Mode Hop Detected” scale is not precise any more. Please run a startup sequence to re-synchronize the laser (see 3.2.3) Internal laser error. Call Thorlabs Service Support “System Error” Internal laser error. Call Thorlabs Service Support “Miscellaneous Error”...

  • Page 46: Addresses

    5.4 Addresses 5.4 Addresses Thorlabs GmbH Gauss-Strasse 11 D-85757 Karlsfeld Fed. Rep. of Germany Tel.: +49 (0)81 31 / 5956-0 Fax: +49 (0)81 31 / 5956 99 Email: europe@thorlabs.com Internet: http://www.thorlabs.com Our company is also represented by several distributors throughout the world.

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