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Analog Technologies

Evaluation Board for ATLS201D

ATLS201DEV1.0

Constant Current Laser Driver ATLS201D

Evaluation board Rev. 1.0

By Gang Liu

Figure 1. Physical Photo of ATLS201DEV1.0

INTORDUCTION

The ATLS201D is a series of high efficiency electronic

modules designed for driving diode lasers with low noise

constant current. It has high reliability, zero EMI (Electro-

Magnetic Interference), and is packed in small DIP package.

The

series

includes

ATLS2A201D,

ATLS3A201D

ATLS4A201D, and ATLS6A201D. The output voltage

range is from 0V to 4V when powered by a 5V power

supply. The evaluation board introduced by this application

note, ATLS201DEV1.0, is designed for evaluating these

laser driver modules conveniently.

It is recommended to read this application note with the

ATLS201D

datasheet

which

provides

more

detail

information

about

the

specifications

and

application

guidelines for the laser driver modules.

The main purpose of using the evaluation board is to drive a

voltage configurable and unbreakable dummy laser diode by

using the laser driver with a programmable current. The

dummy laser on the board emulates the users’ expensive real

laser diode so that in case there is a fault in the circuit or an

improper operation, the real laser would not be damaged.

After making sure the driver works properly and all the

features and the set-values meet the requirements of the

application, the users can disconnect the dummy laser from

the driver by flipping a switch and connect a real diode laser

onto proper connections of the board. At the same time, the

user can set and monitor the output current, monitor the

working status of the driver, etc.

BOARD DESCRIPTION

The ATLS201DEV1.0 Evaluation Board is consisted of a

complete application circuit for driving laser diodes. It can

set and monitor the output current, has an LED for

indicating the working status of the driver, and has

numerous connection pads and terminal connectors for

making

connections

with

external

components

and

instruments. Its physical photo is shown in Figure 1.

The silkscreen layer of the evaluation board is shown in

Figure 2 with other top layers, including top silkscreen, top

copper, top solder mask, and multilayer (vias). Figure 3 only

shows the image of top silkscreen layer. There is no

component in the bottom side of the board, so that there is

no bottom silkscreen layer image.

Figure 2. Top Silkscreen Layer with Other Top Layers

There are solder pads on the left, top and the right edges of

the board. These pads can be used for connecting the

external instruments or components and the connections can

be made by either soldering wires or clipping by alligator

clips.

There are 4 terminal blocks located on the board, their

connectors are for the same nodes of the solder pads. You

can see the silkscreen image in Figure 3. There is a switch

bank on the bottom center of the board. On the left side of

the switch bank, there are 2 potentiometers.

When the driver works perfectly, the LED on the bottom

right location will be lit up.