Spectronix 100550A Laser Pulse Generator Gen2 User Manual
- June 17, 2024
- Spectronix
Table of Contents
Laser Pulse Generator Gen2
100550A
User’s Manual 2022-08-26
Description:
The Laser Pulse Generator is capable of producing precision pulse streams on
up to eight wavelengths which can be individually enabled and disabled. The
pulse width and period are controlled to a precision of 10nS using the on
screen controls, the USB interface, or the optional Ethernet port. The
combined optical signal is split internally and provided at two FC/UPC
connectors.
The unit is powered using a standard USB-C connection or power adapter. The
unit consumes approximately 2W of power depending on the laser settings and
the Ethernet option adds an additional 0.5W. During sleep mode, the power is
reduced to 250mW. 
Operation:
The Laser Pulse Generator is controlled using an LCD touch screen, USB, or
optional Ethernet port.
This document describes the touch screen interface; information on USB and
Ethernet control can be found in the software programming guild. The amplitude
of each laser source is preset at the factory and requires no user adjustment.
Pulse width and period settings are retained between power cycles.
Splash Screen:
When power is applied, the unit
turns on and displays the splash screen shown on the left. Depending on how
the unit was last powered down determines if it will remain on when power is
applied or if it will return to standby mode. This feature is useful when the
unit is primarilly controlled via USB or Ethernet.
Laser Control Screen:
Each laser can be enable or disabled
from the main control screen; at power up all lasers default to off. The unit
can be placed in a low power standby mode by pressing the red “Sleep” button
on the main screen. In sleep mode, all lasers and the Ethernet port are
powered down. Touching the screen will wake the unit up and restore all
settings.
Changing the Waveform Characteristics: 
Touching the pulse width or period value on the main screen
displays a keypad to allow the user to change the pulse period or width. When
selected the value turns white and a keypad is displayed. Use the keypad to
enter the desired value; the “units” button cycles between nS, uS, and mS. The
valid range is 20nS to 167mS; if a value is set outside this range the value
will set the closest allowed value. If the pulse width is set to a value
greater than the period, the value will be set equal to the period producing a
continuous wave (CW) signal. Likewise if the period is set to a value less
than the pulse width, it will be set to the same value as the pulse width.
The “Pre” (preset) button is used to set the period or pulse width to
predefined values. When setting the period, the “Pre” button will cycle
between 1.4mS and 800uS and when setting the pulse width the value will cycle
between1uS and 100nS. The “BkSp” button will backspace over the last entry and
“Rtn” will exit without making any changes. The “OK” button will save the
changes and exit.
Changing the IP Address (Ethernet version only) 
On units equipped with Ethernet, the MAC address and IP address
are displayed at the lower left corner of the main screen. Touching the IP
address will display a keypad similar to the one described above. Type a new
IP address and press “OK”. If the IP address is invalid no changes will be
made. The update takes a few seconds; during this time the “OK” button will
stay red.
When complete, the IP address on the main screen will update.
To format the Ethernet module and restore the network settings to their
factory default values, enter “123456789” for the IP address, press “OK”, and
follow the on-screen instructions.
Power Adjustment: 
WARNING: Each laser has
been factory set to the maximum recommended power. Caution should be observed
if overriding the factory settings since a laser power above -9dBm can result
in permanent damage.
The on amplitude of each laser can be adjusted using amplitude adjustment
screen. When setting the amplitudes, it’s recommended to use a CW waveform by
setting the period and pulse width equal. To enter the power adjustment
screen, swipe from the top left corner of the screen along the left side to a
point about half way down. If using a power meter, the pulse width and period
must be manually set to the same value prior to entering the power adjustment
screen in order to produce a CW waveform.
Select a laser and adjust the amplitude the between 1 and 15 using the +/-
buttons; these values are stored in nonvolatile memory and used for all
subsequent waveforms. The current laser’s amplitude is displayed above the
buttons. Press the OK button to exit.
Statement of Volatility and Clearing:
The USB only version of the Laser Pulse Generator contains no user accessible
memory other than the pulse width and period values and eight nonvolatile
laser amplitude values. If necessary these values can be set to nominal
values.
The optional Ethernet module contains user accessible non-volatile memory.
This memory can be formatted and returned to its factory default state by
following the “restore the network settings“ procedure under the “Changing the
IP Address” section above. If successful the module will respond with the
confirmation message “Complete – Touch screen to continue”, if it fails the
module will display “CONFIG FAILED – Touch screen to continue”. clearing
should be performed using the web interface. See the Laser Pulse Generator
Software Programming Guide for more information.
The commands to the module and its responses during this procedure are
provided below. These are also sent over the USB interface when active and
connected. Refer to the Lantronix XPort Edge documentation for more
information.
status>file System
status File System>format
CONFIRM: All files on the file system will be destroyed! Continue?
(okay/cancel)okayThe file system has been formatted.
status File System>
status File System>exit
status>device
status Device>factory defaults
CONFIRM: Reload factory default settings?
(okay/cancel)The file system has been formatted.okay
WARNING: Rebooting for factory defaults…Command Line started.
config
config>interface eth0
config Interface eth0>DHCP Client Disabled
Changed Interface eth0 DHCP Client to “Disabled”.
WARNING: Change in Interface settings require “write” and reboot before they take effect.
config Interface eth0>write
The changes have been saved permanently.
config Interface eth0>IP Address 192.168.1.160
Changed Interface eth0 IP Address to “192.168.1.160/24”.
WARNING: Change in Interface settings require “write” and reboot before they
take effect.
config Interface eth0>write
The changes have been saved permanently.
config Interface eth0>exit
config>cpm
config CPM>role factory defaults
config CPM Role Factory Defaults>cp 1
Changed CPM Role Factory Defaults CP to “1”.
WARNING: Change will not persist after reboot unless you “write”.
config CPM Role Factory Defaults>state enabled
Changed CPM Role Factory Defaults State to “Enabled”.
WARNING: Change will not persist after reboot unless you “write”.
config CPM Role Factory Defaults>assert low
Changed CPM Role Factory Defaults Assert to “Low”.
WARNING: Change will not persist after reboot unless you “write”.
config CPM Role Factory Defaults>write
The changes have been saved permanently.
config CPM Role Factory Defaults>exit
config CPM>exit
config>line 1
config Line 1>Interface RS232
WARNING: Flow control is required for XML import/export and file upload
through
Command Line.
config Line 1>state enabled
WARNING: Flow control is required for XML import/export and file upload
through
Command Line.
config Line 1>protocol Tunnel
Changed Line 1 Protocol to “Tunnel”.
WARNING: Change will not persist after reboot unless you “write”.
WARNING: Flow control is required for XML import/export and file upload
through
Command Line.
config Line 1>write
The changes have been saved permanently.
config Line 1>Baud Rate 9600
WARNING: Flow control is required for XML import/export and file upload
through
Command Line.
config Line 1>write
No configuration changes were made.
config Line 1>exit
config>tunnel 1
config Tunnel 1>accept
config Tunnel 1 Accept>Local Port 2101
Changed Tunnel 1 Accept Local Port to “2101”.
WARNING: Change will not persist after reboot unless you “write”.
WARNING: Line 1 protocol is not “Tunnel”.
config Tunnel 1 Accept>protocol tcp
WARNING: Line 1 protocol is not “Tunnel”.
config Tunnel 1 Accept>write
The changes have been saved permanently.
config Tunnel 1 Accept>exit
config Tunnel 1>exit
config>
Factory restore complete, power cycle required