Design and Implementation of a Power Semiconductor-Based Switching Mode Laser Diode Driver

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Optoelectronics
• Power Electronics

Background:

• Fiber lasers are crucial for industrial applications like cutting and welding.
• Current laser diode drivers (linear DC power supplies) suffer from low efficiency and large size.
• The performance of fiber lasers is directly linked to the pumping source driver's capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel, efficient, and compact laser diode driver for high-power fiber lasers.
• To enhance the dynamic control and performance of laser diode modules.
• To address the limitations of existing commercial pumping source drivers.

Main Methods:

• Design of a programmable switching mode laser diode driver using a power semiconductor device (PSD)-based full-bridge phase-shifted (FB-PS) DC-DC converter.
• Implementation of a current control scheme utilizing phase angle shifting for fast dynamic current tracking.
• Development of a fully digital control scheme and derivation of dynamic mathematical models.
• Verification through PSIM 9.1 simulations and hardware prototype testing using a digital signal processor.

Main Results:

• The proposed driver successfully drives a 200 W optical power laser diode module.
• Simulation and experimental results demonstrate highly satisfactory performance in output current command tracking control.
• The new design offers improved efficiency and reduced size compared to traditional linear drivers.

Conclusions:

• The novel PSD-based FB-PS DC-DC converter provides an effective solution for high-power laser diode driving.
• The proposed digital control scheme ensures fast and accurate dynamic current tracking.
• This advancement contributes to more efficient and compact fiber laser systems.