PicoQuant Unico Manual

1-color picosecond pulsed, cw and fast switched laser

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Unico

1-Color Picosecond Pulsed, CW and fast switched laser

PicoQuant GmbH

Unico

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Summary of Contents for PicoQuant Unico

Page 2: Table Of Contents
4.4 Software Installation 5. Operation 5.1 Powering the system ON 5.2 Setting Operating Parameters with PQLaserDrv Graphical User Interface 5.2.1 "Select Device" button 5.2.2 “About...” button - 2/47 - Table of contents Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 3 Table of contents 5.2.3 "Apply" and "Discard" buttons 5.2.4 "Main Controller" Control Panel - Soft Lock and Unlock of the UNICO 5.2.5 "Laser" Control Panel 5.2.6 "Presets" Control Panel 6. Troubleshooting, Tips and Tricks 6.1 Power stability 6.2 Pulse Repetition Rate and Intensity Settings 7.
Page 4: General Safety Information
Indicate a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in minor or moderate injury. Indicate a hazardous situation which, if not avoided, could result in death or serious injury. - 4/47 - 1. General safety information Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 5: Electrical Safety Instructions
Only use dedicated power supply. Disconnect the power cord from the electrical outlet before performing any maintenance. - 5/47 - 1.2 Electrical Safety Instructions Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 6: Laser Safety Instructions
The UNICO can be equipped with laser diodes that can emit visible, infrared, or UV light. Infrared or UV light is not visible to the eye! The UNICO laser module can emit laser light of up to class 3b / IIIb. Please refer to the labels affixed to the laser for information on classification.
Page 7: General Safety Instructions For Operation
Please refer to the laser delivery report provided with each ordered laser for information on the central emission wavelength, maximum achievable optical output power and pulse shape of your UNICO laser module.
Page 8 For information on the wavelength and optical power for selecting the correct eye protection, see product label or laser delivery report! The UNICO also features a manually operated mechanical shutter, which is operated by turning the black lever into the desired position: •...
Page 9: Remote Interlock Connector
The UNICO will resume laser emission as soon as the remote interlock circuit is closed or once power is restored after a power loss. An open interlock circuit (or activated Soft Lock) is indicated by white blinking "ON"...
Page 10 NOT intended for everyday use of the laser driver. The bridging plug cannot act as a functional remote interlock circuit, since it has no capability to react to e.g., a door switch. - 10/47 - 1.5 Remote Interlock Connector Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 11: Introduction
The picosecond pulses can be triggered either by the module’s internal clock or by an external oscillator at up to 200 MHz. The module is fully computer controlled, making its operation very easy: Connect UNICO to a PC via an USB port and all changes in operation parameters can be done via a convenient software interface.
Page 12 2. Introduction Easy to use Being a stand-alone module, UNICO does not require any additional laser driver. The settings and operating parameters are fully computer controlled via an intuitive control software based on the well- known Sepia graphical user interface.
Page 13: Hardware Description
Graphical User Interface (GUI), see section 5.2 for more details. However, the laser device can also be used without being connected to a PC. The UNICO will then operate with the last set of operating parameters stored in its memory.
Page 14 CW mode. If the UNICO is operated at either very low repetition rates, long gating periods, or with an invalid trigger level, the indicator will turn off after about 100 ms until the next event switches the LED back on.
Page 15: Laser Locking Behavior
The gating function affects the triggering mechanism. The gating input accepts TTL pulses and is effective if the UNICO is being triggered either from the internal oscillator or from an external source. The gating function can perform transition between on and off states within nanoseconds.
Page 16: Optical Output
Readjustment is a demanding task and needs experience. 3.4 Product Label The product label (see Fig. 7) can be found on the side of the UNICO module, next to the laser safety label. It shows all relevant information needed to identify the device, including product name, part number, serial number, manufacturing date as well as the PicoQuant logo with address, CE label, and waste regulation identifier.
Page 17: Orientation Of Laser Polarization Plane
For best laser performance and stability, please ensure free air circulation around the whole laser module. By default, the cooling fans will be running when the UNICO is powered on and cannot be switched off during operation.
Page 18: Installation
4. Installation 4. Installation 4.1 Scope of Delivery Your UNICO is delivered with a series of cables and accessories. Start by unpacking the delivery box and check that all components listed in the table below are present. UNICO 1-Color Picosecond Laser...
Page 19: Preparations
PicoQuant laser driver software (see section 4.4). 4.4 Software Installation Once the UNICO is in its dedicated place and the relevant cables have been inserted, connect the UNICO to the host computer using the delivered USB-C cable. A USB 2.0 port can be used.
Page 20 Select the components to be installed (availability of which can change depending on product releases or discontinuations) The PicoQuant Laser Driver Software can control not only the UNICO but also the Sepia devices from PicoQuant. In case you need to control multiple lasers, it is necessary to install all relevant components (see the last item in the list above).
Page 21 Click Finish to close the Installation Wizard Once the software is installed, the UNICO can be switched on (see chapter 5). When the laser is powered on for the first time, Windows will detect a new device and installs the necessary device drivers.
Page 22: Operation
5. Operation 5. Operation This section describes in detail step by step how to switch on the UNICO and how to use the GUI to set the various laser module settings (e.g. power intensity, trigger source, repetition rate, fan control).
Page 23: Setting Operating Parameters With Pqlaserdrv Graphical User Interface
5.2 Setting Operating Parameters with PQLaserDrv Graphical User Interface The UNICO must be turned on and the initialization process completed, before the software can be started! The GUI is available in three different color schemes: PicoQuant bright scheme, PicoQuant dark scheme and a standard Windows scheme.
Page 24: Select Device" Button
UNICO (or any other USB laser device from PicoQuant) is connected to the same host computer. It can also be used to restore the USB connection to the device if it is interrupted for any reason during operation.
Page 25: About
Get Latest Manuals will also check online if newer versions of applicable manuals are available. An example of such a search result is shown in Fig. 12. - 25/47 - 5.2.2 “About...” button Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 26: Apply" And "Discard" Buttons
5.2.4 "Main Controller" Control Panel - Soft Lock and Unlock of the UNICO The UNICO can be locked (no laser light emission) not only with the hardware key switch on the interface panel, but also via the GUI by clicking on the button labeled Laser Soft Lock / Laser Soft Unlock in the Main Controller panel on the left side of the software window.
Page 27 5.2.4 "Main Controller" Control Panel - Soft Lock and Unlock of the UNICO The Laser Unlocked state is recognizable in the software by the Laser Locked indicator turning dark red (see Fig. 13, left). In addition, the ON LED on the UNICO is blinking dark white if the key switch...
Page 28: Laser" Control Panel
Figure 15: list of operation modes under selection box “Oper. Mode” Use the top selection box to choose the operation mode for the UNICO. Note that the control elements located just below from the mode selection box will change depending on the chosen operation mode.
Page 29 • 1 ns Pulse, 2 ns Pulse, 3 ns Pulse and 4 ns Pulse: In one of these operation modes, the UNICO will generate ns laser pulses in a similar way as gated CW. However, these pulses can be triggered internally or externally up to 100 MHz.
Page 30 • After selecting one of the Pulse Modes, a new selection box called Trig. Source will appear below the mode selection box (see Fig. 16). The following trigger modes are available for the UNICO: ◦ Choose the option internal PLL to use the UNICO’s internal clocks for triggering the picosecond and nanosecond pulses.
Page 31 Off option turns internal gating generator off. • The On-Time spin edit box allows setting the time where the UNICO is emitting laser light. The time unit (ns, μs, ms) can be selected from the selection box located next to it. Only a value within the validity range of 10ns-1ms can be selected.
Page 32 The Zero button provides an easy toggle between any intensity value and zero intensity. This is useful in case the UNICO needs to be switched off quickly. The button saves the previously set intensity, which is also indicated by the fact that the name of the button changes from Zero to the corresponding percentage value.
Page 33: Presets" Control Panel
Recall Preset 1 or Recall Preset 2 in the Presets window (see Fig. 20). Figure 21: Edit comment for a preset - 33/47 - 5.2.6 "Presets" Control Panel Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 34 Clicking on a Recall Preset button leads to an immediate configuration change without the need to manually apply the changes! The process itself can, however, take some time depending on the difference between current and recalled settings! - 34/47 - 5.2.6 "Presets" Control Panel Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 35: Troubleshooting, Tips And Tricks
Under pulsed operation, the optical pulse energy is nonlinear related to the drive current and as such may shown a high threshold value and steep increase thereafter for the intensity setting. - 35/47 - 6. Troubleshooting, Tips and Tricks Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 36: Technical Data / Specifications
-3 to +5 V into 50 Ohm Timing Jitter < 12 ps (rms) Connector Synchronization output Amplitude < -800 mV into 50 Ohm (NIM) Connector - 36/47 - 7. Technical Data / Specifications Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 37 10 and 11 Typical value in Pulsed mode. A slight shift to longer wavelengths in CW mode. Measured at 1 m distance from laser aperture - 37/47 - 7. Technical Data / Specifications Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 38 This is the maximum average power at Broad Pulse mode setting and max repetition rate. A pulse broadening up to 500 ps FWHM is possible at maximum intensity setting - 38/47 - 7. Technical Data / Specifications Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 39 7. Technical Data / Specifications Dimensions of the UNICO laser modules (all values given in mm): Back Front - 39/47 - 7. Technical Data / Specifications Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 41: Support
Should you encounter problems that require sending the device in for inspection / repair, please contact us first at: https://support.picoquant.com or support@picoquant.com and request an RMA number before shipping the device. Please include the serial number of your device. Observe precautions against static discharge under all circumstances during handling, packaging and shipping.
Page 42: Legal Terms
9. Legal Terms 9. Legal Terms 9.1 Copyright Copyright of this manual and on-line documentation belongs to PicoQuant GmbH. No parts of it may be reproduced, translated, or transferred to third parties without written permission of PicoQuant. 9.2 Trademarks Other products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered trademarks or subject to copyrights of their respective owners.
Page 43: Further Reading
10. Further Reading 10.1 PicoQuant Bibliography PicoQuant maintains a database of publications mentioning PicoQuant devices. It can be found at our website https://www.picoquant.com/scientific/references. It is a valuable source if you would like to know which laboratories are using PicoQuant products or how broad the field of various applications is.
Page 44: Appendix
The delivery report of your laser, including all final production test results for pulse shape, optical power, and linewidth is delivered with each laser source. A PDF copy can be provided on request. - 44/47 - 11. Appendix Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...
Page 45: Overview Of Laser Warning Labels By Module Type
11.3 Overview of Laser Warning Labels by Module Type The table in this section provides an overview of laser warning labels by model type. Note that this list includes all Unico models available at the time this manual was published. Figure 22: Warning label for Model type UNICO-375...
Page 46 11.3 Overview of Laser Warning Labels by Module Type Figure 25: Warning label for Model type UNICO-488 Figure 26: Warning label for Model type UNICO-515 Figure 27: Warning label for Model type UNICO-640 - 46/47 - 11.3 Overview of Laser Warning Labels by Module Type...
Page 47 Specifications and external appearances are subject to change without notice. PicoQuant GmbH P +49-(0)30-1208820-0 Rudower Chaussee 29 (IGZ) F +49-(0)30-1208820-90 12489 Berlin info@picoquant.com Germany www.picoquant.com - 47/47 - 11.3 Overview of Laser Warning Labels by Module Type Copyright © 2025 PicoQuant. - Version 1.0.0 February 25...

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