Application Report

SBAA072A – May 2002 – Revised March 2005

An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based

on the AMC7820
Rick Downs Data Acquisition Products

ABSTRACT

The AMC7820 is an integrated circuit designed for analog monitoring and control. Its
features are put to use in this reference design for laser and thermoelectric cooler control
in EDFA and Raman optical amplifiers. The resulting circuit fits into a credit-card sized
space.

Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................3
Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier Basics ..................................................................................................4
Pump Laser Module ................................................................................................................................5
Laser Diode ...........................................................................................................................................6
Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC).................................................................................................................6
Thermistor..............................................................................................................................................7
Back Facet Monitor................................................................................................................................8
AMC7820: An Ideal Device for Control Loop Solutions ......................................................................8
Thermoelectric Cooler Control ..............................................................................................................8
Thermistor............................................................................................................................................10
Driver ...................................................................................................................................................10
Stability ................................................................................................................................................12
Laser Control.........................................................................................................................................14
Current Sense......................................................................................................................................15
Laser Driver .........................................................................................................................................16
Optical Power Monitor .........................................................................................................................17
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................17
Schematics ............................................................................................................................................19

1
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Figures
Figure 1. DWDM Multiplexes Many Signals Onto One Fiber ..........................................................3
Figure 2. EDFA Power Monitoring and Control ...............................................................................4
Figure 3. DWDM Transmission System............................................................................................5
Figure 4. Thermoelectric Cooler Block Diagram .............................................................................6
Figure 5. Thermistor Response Curve .............................................................................................7
Figure 6. TEC Control Loop...............................................................................................................9
Figure 7. Temperature Measurement with Ratiometric Reference ..............................................10
Figure 8. Class D Power Driver for TEC .........................................................................................11
Figure 9. TEC Response with no Compensation...........................................................................12
Figure 10. TEC Response with Compensation.............................................................................13
Figure 11. Deviation from Setpoint vs Actual Temperature........................................................14
Figure 12. Laser Control Loop .......................................................................................................14
Figure 13. Current Sense Circuits .................................................................................................15
Figure 14. Digitally-Controlled Current Limit ...............................................................................16
Figure 15. Back Facet Diode Monitor ............................................................................................17
Figure 16. Complete AMC7820-Based EDFA Pump Laser System ............................................18

2 An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820

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Introduction

Optical networking is becoming a more important networking option, and it presents some
interesting control system challenges. One of these challenges is controlling the laser diode in a
DWDM system.
DWDM stands for Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing – this is the same concept as
frequency division multiplexing that is used to send many channels down your cable TV line. In
this case, the “cable” is actually an optical fiber, and the many different channels of data are
multiplexed onto different wavelengths. This concept is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1. DWDM Multiplexes Many Signals Onto One Fiber.

As the optical signals travel down the fiber, their optical power needs to be maintained. This is
done in a fashion similar to using repeaters in radio; periodically along the fiber, the signals are
re-amplified to maintain the optimum optical power. This amplification takes place in the optical
domain, using an Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier, or EDFA.
Erbium is a rare-earth element that, when excited, emits light around 1.54 micrometers—the
low-loss wavelength for optical fibers used in DWDM. A weak signal enters the erbium-doped
fiber, into which light at 980nm or 1480nm is injected using a pump laser. This injected light
stimulates the erbium atoms to release their stored energy as additional 1550nm light. As this
process continues down the fiber, the signal grows stronger. The spontaneous emissions in the
EDFA also add noise to the signal; this determines the noise figure of an EDFA.

The key performance parameters of optical amplifiers are gain, gain flatness, noise level, and
output power. EDFAs are typically capable of gains of 30dB or more and output power of +17dB
or more. The signal gain provided with an EDFA is inherently wavelength-dependent, but it can
be corrected with gain flattening filters, which are often built into modern EDFAs.

Low noise is a requirement because noise, along with signal, is amplified. Because this effect is
cumulative, and cannot be filtered out, the signal-to-noise ratio is an ultimate limiting factor in the
number of amplifiers that can be concatenated and, therefore, the length of a single fiber link. In
practice, signals can travel for up to 120km (74mi) between amplifiers.

An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820 3

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Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier Basics

Figure 2 shows a detailed view of an EDFA. The optical power monitors can be seen near the
top of the diagram. The pump lasers must have a constant current flow to them, in order to keep
the optical power output constant and to keep the laser on wavelength.

Figure 2. EDFA Power Monitoring and Control.

Erbium - Doped Fiber
INPUT OUTPUT
CONNECTOR ISOLATOR WDM COUPLER ISOLATOR CONNECTOR
WDM COUPLER

1550nm 1550nm
Photo Power Photo Power
Monitor Monitor

Photodiode / Photodiode /
Photo Power Monitor
TZA TZA

980 nm 980 nm
Laser Current Laser Current
Power Driver Power Driver
Laser Current Laser Current

PUMP LASER B
PUMP LASER A

Constant Pump Laser Current to Controller Controller

Make Stable Output Photo Power
Laser Current
Laser Current
Sensor
Sensor

TEC Current TEC Current

Power Driver Power Driver
TEC Current TEC Current
Fixed Temperature to Make Controller Controller
TEC A

TEC B
Stable Wavelength
TEC Temp. TEC Temp.
Sensor Sensor

Main System Computer

There are actually several control loops here. Inside the laser module, there are control loops for
the pump laser current and the TEC, to control optical power and temperature. These loops are
relatively slow, almost DC control problems.

The loop outside the laser module, however, is much faster and this is the loop that monitors the
input and output optical power. This loop must be fast because the optical power must be quickly
adjusted when adding or dropping channels, to control the transient response of the EDFA.
Dropping channels can give rise to surviving channel errors, since the power of these channels
may surpass the threshold for nonlinear effects such as Brillouin scattering. Adding channels
can cause errors by depressing the power of surviving channels below the receiver threshold.
Response times of this loop are required to be in the range of 0.85µs to 3.75µs.
Often, a fast Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) is used to get the initial fast response time, and
a slower, higher-resolution converter is used to stabilize the loop to its final value. The design
presented in this application note addresses the slower control loop problem, which is to control
current through a laser diode to provide optimal optical power output, while maintaining tight
control of the laser’s temperature so that the laser diode will stay on the desired wavelength.

4 An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820

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The temperature of the laser diode is critical in maintaining a constant wavelength, so it must be
controlled. This can be challenging, because as significant current is driven into the laser diode
to provide the power desired, the temperature cannot change. These systems address this
problem by using a Thermo-Electric Cooler (TEC) inside the laser diode module. The cooling or
heating of the laser diode is controlled by the amount of current through the TEC. This current,
as well as the pump laser diode current, must be precisely monitored and controlled.
This means controlling the temperature within ±0.1°C, while driving the laser diode with as much
current as it can handle, all the while monitoring the laser current, the laser temperature, and the
TEC voltage and current.
Since these optical networking components are part of a large system, a standard has been
established for monitoring and reporting the status of each network component. This is called
the Management Information Base, and for the EDFA, parameters such as optical SNR, pump
laser temperature, pump laser current, and others must be able to be reported back to a central
computer that monitors these parameters. This is done to insure quality of service (QoS) and to
detect faults in the system. For this reason, these parameters are converted to digital through an
ADC.

Pump Laser Module

The pump laser diode module can be seen in Figure 3. The module consists of a laser diode and
a thermoelectric cooler. The cooler acts to keep the laser diode at the same temperature,
regardless of how much power is being used in the diode. This is critical, as the laser’s
wavelength will change with changes in temperature. An additional diode, used to monitor the
optical power output from the laser diode, is included, and is often fabricated on the back facet of
the laser; hence it is sometimes referred to as the back facet diode.

The control system around this laser diode module is hinted at here: a means of controlling laser
diode current is needed, as well as a temperature control loop that controls the thermoelectric
cooler. Various critical parameters of the system are monitored and controlled by the ADC and
the digital-to-analog converter (DAC).

Figure 3. DWDM Transmission System.

An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820 5

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Laser Diode
A typical 980nm pump laser may only have an initial wavelength accuracy of ±5nm; when in
operation, however, the pump laser must remain within ±0.5nm over time and temperature to
maintain acceptable noise levels in the EDFA.
The laser module for this design is a 975nm pump laser, with 250mW output power. Laser
modules require drive currents in the range from 300mA up to 3A. The particular laser used in
this design requires a minimum threshold current of 35mA to operate, and can be driven up to
500mA when achieving maximum power output.

Thermoelectric Cooler (TEC)

All laser modules’ output wavelengths are temperature dependent. Modern lasers, like the one
used in this design, achieve ±0.02nm/°C temperature dependence. This is a great improvement
over just a year ago, when most lasers had a 1nm/°C temperature coefficient.
The thermoelectric cooler consists of a Peltier element in close contact with the laser diode, as
shown in Figure 4. A thermistor is provided to monitor the temperature at the laser diode. The
Peltier element is then driven by some kind of power driver which monitors the thermistor and
causes the driver to source or sink current through the Peltier element to maintain a constant
temperature.

Figure 4. Thermoelectric Cooler Block Diagram.

fiber

heat transfer laser

Peltier element
thermistor

OUT_R
LC low-pass filter
OUT_L
Vsupply

IN_L
PWM

ADC

IN_R

Embedded
GND
serial comms link
SCI

Controller/DSP
H-Bridge Configuration
Power Amp or discretes

6 An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820

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For system stability, note that maintaining ±0.1°C temperature stability with the newer laser still
may result in a change of 0.002nm out of the 975nm center wavelength. This is a change of
±2ppm. Even with the great advances made in the lasers over the past year, temperature control
is still a very important part of the optical system, as overall stability of approximately ±4ppm is
needed in these systems.
The thermoelectric cooler in the laser module used can draw up to 1.8A when the difference
between one side of the cooler and the other side is 50°C. The TEC must not have more than
3.4V applied across it, as higher voltages will damage the element.

Note that there are no accuracy specifications for the TEC — this is a device that is intended to
be used in a closed-loop control system. The accuracy of the temperature control will depend
upon the temperature measurement through the thermistor, and the control of the current
through the TEC.

Thermistor
The thermistor used in the laser module has a negative temperature coefficient. The nominal
value of the thermistor is 10K ±500Ω, at 25°C. Like all thermistors, its response is nonlinear over
a wide range of temperature.

Figure 5. Thermistor Response Curve.

Thermistor Response

35000

30000

25000
Resistance (Ω)

20000

15000

10000

5000

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Temperature (°C)

Since the thermistor is the transducer for measuring temperature, and the system must measure
and control temperature within 0.01°C, this transducer must be linearized. Fortunately, the
characteristic of this thermistor is known, so the nonlinearity can be taken into account.

An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820 7

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Back Facet Monitor

The diode formed on the back facet of the laser diode can be used as a photodiode to monitor
the optical power output. Typically, this diode is used only as a coarse indicator of laser power,
as the back facet diode is not very accurate. In the laser module used in this design, the
responsivity of this diode is typicially 7µA/mW, but can be as low as 2µA/mW and as high as
30µA/mW.
Tracking ratio is a specification worthy of attention. It is the linearity of measured power versus
the current output from the diode. At first glance, for the laser module used in this design, this
looks terrible: the current output for a given optical power may vary by as much as 30%! In
reality, that’s true only at very low powers. At close to the rated power for the laser, the tracking
ratio actually is closer to something like 1%.

Note that the wide variability of responsivity means that the system must be designed to handle
a dynamic range that will accommodate the lowest as well as highest responsivity.

AMC7820: An Ideal Device for Control Loop Solutions

The EDFA pump laser design requires two control loops: a temperature control loop, and a
current control loop for the laser diode. Setpoints for each loop will be under computer control,
requiring DACs, and monitoring of critical parameters must be done, requiring ADCs. Most of
the actual control loop functions can be realized in the analog domain, so several op amps are
also needed. While this function could be accomplished by putting discrete devices down on a
printed circuit board, this would require significant space. EDFAs are generally put in places
where space it at a premium.

The AMC7820 is a device that contains all the functions needed for this design. The AMC7820 is
a complete analog monitoring and control circuit in a 48-pin TQFP package that includes an 8-
channel, 12-bit ADC, three 12-bit DACs, nine operational amplifiers, a thermistor current source,
an internal +2.5V reference, and an SPITM serial interface. It is ideal for multi-channel
applications where low power and small size are critical.
In the following sections, the features of the AMC7820 will be put to use in developing solutions
to the control problems presented.

Thermoelectric Cooler Control

The first problem is to control the temperature of the laser diode. In this pump laser example, the
wavelength needs to be controlled to within ±0.5nm of the initial wavelength. This means that
only drift is a problem, not the initial value. As long as the temperature is close to the 25°C that
the laser wants to operate at, the pump will still work, but its stability is most critical.
Since many lasers have a 1nm/°C tempco, this means that the temperature should be controlled
to within ±0.5°C maximum. However, since drift appears as noise in the amplifier, any change
will degrade the optical signal-to-noise ratio. So the design goal is to achieve ±0.1°C drift to
minimize noise. This will also give ample room for drift due to amplifier aging. (Note that the
actual laser used is much more forgiving of temperature change, with a much lower tempco than
1nm/°C. While this is nice, the system is designed to control within ±0.1°C, to achieve maximum
SNR.)

8 An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820

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The temperature control loop is shown in Figure 6. Black squares denote pins on the AMC7820.
The temperature setpoint is determined by the output of DAC0, which has a 0V to 5V range. The
thermistor is biased with a 100µA current, which is supplied by the AMC7820’s internal current
source. At 25°C, this will result in 1V dropped across the thermistor. This voltage is applied to
the integrator built around OPA7. As the difference between the thermistor voltage and the
setpoint increases, the integrator will ramp up or down.
A key feature of the AMC7820 is the inclusion of switches to disable the TEC drive. This switch
comes off the output of the integrator. When connected to the integrator, the error voltage is
passed along to a limiter circuit, and then to a DRV591 PWM power driver. This circuit will drive
current through the TEC in either direction, to either heat or cool. OPA5 and OPA6 are
configured as difference amplifiers to sense the TEC voltage and current, respectively.

Figure 6. TEC Control Loop.

Current Mirror
10K
1:4

11 10K

VREF ADC
OPA5 13
CH6
12
5.62K 10K

10K 10K
45 44 2
ISET_RESISTOR THERM_I_OUT T_SENSOR_VOLTAGE
1uF VREF VREF
C FF 1/2
100K T OPA2342
1M
46 +
EN 10uH 10uF
OPA7

TEC
Cooling
48 47
1 DRV591
DIS 10uF -
SW_2_OUT
VREF VREF
VREF 10uH
1/2 10uF 0.1
Temperature OPA2342
Setpoint 768K

DAC0

6
DAC0_OUT 562K
40K
40K
40K 3 8K
ADC
7 OPA6 5
CH7
DAC0_OUT_SET 4
8K
40K

VREF

DAC0 determines the temperature setpoint, and affords temperature resolution of approximately
0.03°C per LSB. The DAC requires a reference voltage; the internal AMC7820 reference will
have an initial tolerance of 2%, and a drift of 10ppm/°C. How can this error be eliminated?
The answer is simple: use the same reference for both the DAC and the thermistor, as shown in
Figure 7. If the current flowing through the thermistor is proportional to the reference voltage,
and the temperature setpoint of our control system is also proportional to the reference voltage,
then, in essence, what the control loop must do is cause the voltage across the thermistor to
equal the voltage out of the DAC. This bridge arrangement, as shown here, works extremely well
as the control loop is geared toward applications where two voltages must balance.

An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820 9

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Figure 7. Temperature Measurement with Ratiometric Reference.

By using the reference in this ratiometric mode, the absolute value of the reference doesn’t
matter; moreover, reference drifts over time and temperature won’t affect the temperature
control loop at all.

Thermistor
As noted earlier, the thermistor characteristic is not linear, and this nonlinearity must be taken
into account. By knowing the characteristic of the thermistor, and the excitation it is being
provided, the microprocessor driving the setpoint DAC can calculate the voltage that
corresponds to a certain temperature.

Actually, the calculation will find a code that is a ratio of the output to full-scale; this code is what
is sent to the DAC. Remember, since the converter and the thermistor are all using the same
reference, the absolute voltage doesn’t matter; only the ratio to full-scale matters.

Driver
In this design, a switching PWM driver is used to drive the TEC. This is one approach to the
output stage. A linear driver features very low noise, and can be made very efficient when it
swings close to the supply rails. Driving a 2Ω TEC to its maximum current of 1.8A, efficiencies of
close to 90% are possible with some linear driver circuits. (See “Optoelectronics Circuit
Collection”, http://www-s.ti.com/sc/psheets/sbea001/sbea001.pdf.) The key to achieving good
efficiency with a linear driver is to match the TEC driver amplifier characteristics with appropriate
power supplies for your TEC.

10 An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820

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Switching or Pulse-Width Modulated (PWM) types of drivers, as used here, can achieve very
high efficiencies, dissipating less heat in the driver. This can be attractive in these optical
networking systems as space is usually at a premium, so large heatsinks are not desirable. The
downside to this approach is that the switching noise may couple into the element being driven.
For a TEC, this is usually not a problem, as long as adequate filtering is supplied to keep the
ripple current within the specifications of the TEC.

Figure 8. Class D Power Driver for the TEC.

½ OPA2134

½ OPA2134

The PWM driver circuit shown in Figure 8, built around a Texas Instruments DRV591, can
supply up to ±3A to a TEC. The DRV591 has a fixed gain of 2.34, resulting in a transfer function
of:

VO = VO+ − VO − = 2.34(VIN + − VIN − )

In this application, the TEC cannot have more than 2.72V across it. Since VIN- is tied to the 2.5V
reference, this means that the voltage on VIN+ must be limited to less than 3.66V and must be
more than 1.34V. The OPA2342 circuit shown on the left side of Figure 8 serves that purpose.
The DRV591 provides for fault monitoring; in this circuit LEDs light up should an over current or
over temperature condition occur, but these could just as easily be brought back to the
microprocessor for reporting to the central computer.

An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820 11

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Stability
As the temperature setpoint is changed, the loop will attempt to force the temperature to the
setpoint. If the error amplifier/integrator is not compensated properly, the loop will overshoot and
ring for quite some time. As seen in Figure 9, a 4°C change in setpoint results in the loop taking
over 30 seconds to stabilize.

Figure 9. TEC Response with no Compensation.

TEC Response to +4°C Change in Setpoint

30

25

20
Temperature, °C

15

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Time, sec

TEC Temperature Temperature Setpoint

Adding a feedforward capacitor (CFF) to the integrator greatly reduces the overshoot and the
time needed for the loop to stabilize. See Figure 10 for a 1µF capacitor used as the feedforward
capacitor; the system is still a bit underdamped. Note that the response time has reduced to
about 5 seconds.

12 An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820

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Figure 10. TEC Response with Compensation.

TEC Response to ±4°C Change in Setpoint

30

25

20
Temperature, °C

15

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Time, sec

TEC Temperature Temperature Setpoint

The resulting operation of the TEC control loop is shown in Figure 11. Temperature stability,
even under a 20°C change in ambient temperature, was approximately ±0.005°C at steady
state. Note that for the most part, the temperature stability is within ±0.002°C over a long period,
and is within ±0.001°C for short periods.
Figure 11. Deviation from Setpoint vs Actual Temperature.

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Laser Control
The second control problem is that of controlling the current through the laser diode. In real
EDFAs, a separate very accurate optical power monitor is used. In this design, the back facet
diode is used as a rough estimate of the optical power because the initial accuracy of the back
facet monitor is only ±20%, and at any given power level, only stable within ±1%. The actual
control, however, is not dependent upon optical power but on a current level that the system will
specify and measure. The sensitivity of the laser diode to current is approximately 0.5mW/mA in
its linear region.

The laser control loop is shown in Figure 12. As before, the setpoint for the current will come
from a DAC, in this case the AMC7820’s DAC2. The current through the laser is sensed with a
sense resistor; the voltage across this resistor is amplified using a gain-of-10 instrumentation
amplifier. This signal is fed back to an integrator built around OPA1, which integrates the
difference between the DAC setpoint and the actual current. This signal drives the external linear
power amplifier, which is an OPA561.
Figure 12. Laser Control Loop
25
23
ADC
OPA3 24
CH0

Laser Current
Setpoint
17
DAC2 DAC2_OUT EN
29
+5V

DIS 28 31 OPA1
30
SW_1_OUT
40K CL
0.001uF
40K
OPA561
-5V
20
DAC2_OUT_SET 6.2K

+5V

ADC INA143 0.3 ohm 0.15V => ILD = 500mA

CH4 G = 10
REF

-5V

LASER
+2.5V

This approach works well, but care must be taken with optimizing the loop for the appropriate
transient response. As signals are added or dropped on the optical fiber, the optical power must
change rapidly to maintain a constant power through the fiber. The proportional-integral method
shown here may not be fast enough for some systems. In that case, the integrator/power
amplifier combination can be replaced with a Howland Current Pump circuit (see
“Optoelectronics Circuit Collection”, http://www-s.ti.com/sc/psheets/sbea001/sbea001.pdf).

14 An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820

 SBAA072A

In this control loop the reference is important. The sensor for feedback is the current sense
resistor and it is not able to be ratioed to the reference. The reference’s inaccuracies and drift
will therefore be part of the setpoint.
Fortunately, the laser is concerned mainly with changes in power once the initial power level is
approximately correct. The laser in this system has a response of approximately 0.5mW per mA
of current flowing through it. The setpoint for the DAC will come from the microprocessor, which
will send the DAC a code representing a particular laser current, which in turn is proportional to
an optical output power.

Current Sense
The circuit shown in Figure 13 will sense the laser current. For a given laser module, current can
only flow one direction, but this design was to be a universal circuit, so the driver and current
sense amplifier are designed to be bipolar.
Figure 13. Current Sense Circuits.

0.15V => ILD = 500mA +5V

-

0.3 ohm INA143 2.5V to 4V

G = 10
+
REF

-5V

+2.5V
LASER

GROUNDED ANODE

0.15V => ILD = 500mA +5V

+

0.3 ohm INA143 2.5V to 1V

G = 10
-
REF

-5V

+2.5V
LASER

GROUNDED CATHODE

Thus, with a grounded anode laser, current will flow as shown in Figure 13. The output voltage
from the instrumentation amplifier will range from 2.5V at zero current up to 4V at 500mA of
current. Likewise, when current flows in the opposite direction, as with a grounded cathode
laser, the output will range from 2.5V at zero current down to 1V at 500mA.

An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820 15

SBAA072A

If the laser polarity is known, this circuit could be modified to only allow unipolar operation, by
grounding the INA143’s reference pin instead of connecting it to 2.5V. The input polarity of the
instrumentation amplifier would also need to be reviewed to make sure that the sense of the
signal would be correct for feeding back to the control loop. Increasing the size of the sense
resistor, to take advantage of an increased signal swing, would be possible. This would allow the
ADC to realize increased current resolution for monitoring purposes.

Laser Driver
The power amplifier in this control loop is a linear power op amp. In the case of the laser drive,
the noise in the drive current is critical, as noise here may couple into the signal path. Therefore,
switching amplifiers are not widely used for laser drive applications.
Many other linear drive circuits are possible. See “Optoelectronics Circuit Collection”,
http://www-s.ti.com/sc/psheets/sbea001/sbea001.pdf.

Driving too much current through it can damage the laser. A current limit on the laser driver is
therefore a good idea. The OPA561 allows for a fixed current limit by tying the current limit pin to
the negative rail through a resistor. A DAC could also be used to provide an adjustable current
limit, if it can provide between 0V and 1.2V swing above the negative rail (in this case, a swing
from –5V to –3.8V). For example, in a circuit with a grounded cathode, the OPA561 could
operate off of a single supply (note that the OPA561 requires a minimum +7V supply in single
supply mode). In that case, DAC1 could be used as shown in Figure 14 to control the current
limit. Note using the internal resistors for the DAC as part of a voltage divider to cause the DAC
output swing to be between 0V and 1.25V.
Figure 14. Digitally-Controlled Current Limit.

+8V

Laser Drive
OPA561 0.3 ohm
0 - 3.3V

LASER

Current
Limit

DAC1

22
DAC1_OUT

40K
40K 8
0 - 1.25V 10 OPA2
21 9
DAC1_OUT_SET
40K

16 An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820

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Optical Power Monitor

The optical power output of the laser diode is monitored by the back facet diode. The back facet
diode is used in photovoltaic mode, meaning that no bias is applied to the diode. This means
that all the current from the diode needs to be converted into a usable voltage. Using a
transimpedance amplifier, as shown in Figure 11, does this. The feedback capacitor is chosen to
minimize gain peaking.
Figure 15. Back Facet Diode Monitor.

2pF

4K
14
OPA4
16 15

BACKFACET
MONITOR

The ADC monitors the output signal from this circuit, in hopes that the back facet monitor diode’s
measurement of optical power is approximately correct. This is probably true as long as the
output power is close to the rated power (remember the tracking ratio is better at higher powers!)
and the monitor diode is kept at a constant temperature—and that has been taken care of
already by the TEC.

Now we must consider the latency introduced by the ADC if the optical power is used as a
feedback mechanism. In the system just designed, the optical power would have to be converted
by the ADC, understood by the host processor, and adjustments made to the DAC setpoint as
needed. As channels are added or dropped from the fiber, changes in optical power must be
responded to very quickly—in less than a microsecond. If the ADC were to be used in this
manner, a much faster ADC would be required. Likewise, a faster DAC would be required,
processor overhead would have to be quite small, and the power drive circuit would have to be
the Howland Current Pump rather than the proportional-integral power amplifier used.

Conclusion
Figure 16 is a photo of the board built from the design presented. This credit-card sized circuit
realizes the complete laser and TEC control loops of an EDFA amplifier. The pump laser module
can be seen in the upper right-hand corner of the board.

An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820 17

SBAA072A

Figure 16. Complete AMC7820-Based EDFA Pump Laser System.

References
1. AMC7820 datasheet, Texas Instruments (SBAS231B)
2. “Optoelectronics Circuit Collection”, Texas Instruments, http://www-
s.ti.com/sc/psheets/sbea001/sbea001.pdf
3. 980nm Optilock Pump datasheet, Corning Lasertronics
4. “Optical Fiber Amplifiers for WDM Optical Networks”, Y. Sun, A.K. Srivastava, J. Zhou,
and J.W. Sulhoff, Bell Labs Technical Journal, January-March 1999, pp. 187-206.

18 An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820

 1 2 3 4 5 66
REVISION HISTORY
REV ENGINEERING CHANGE NUMBER APPROVED
Schematics

+5V -5V
J3
D3 +/- 5 V ED555/3DS
PC PARALLEL PORT D1
GREEN GREEN
J1 J2
D SML-LX0603GW-TR +5V -5V +5V D
DB25 SML-LX0603GW-TR

3
2
1
R4 R6

2
4
6
8
10
390 390 R21
402K

1
3
5
7
9

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
TP19

14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
10
23
11
24
12
25
13
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
EXTERNAL SPI GROUND

NC
NC
+5V M1
TP18
RESET
TP2 EXT REF CORNING
R20 +5V C12
R1 /RESET
6.65K

BFM ANODE
COOLER (+)

4.7K TP3 VREF THERMISTOR

+5V
/SS

6
8
10 uF
TP4 R19
+5V 3 U3
SCLK D2
RED 10K 7
TP5 CP09750-01-250-G2-01
2
MOSI SML-LX0603IW-TR
OPA561PWP

4
NC
NC
LASER ANODE THERMISTOR
LASER CATHODE BFM CATH
NC
GND
COOLER (-)

R5

20
TP6
U1A 390

5
MISO R7

8
9
1
10
11
12
13
14

G 6.2K C5 C11

VCC
Maximum Current .5 A
2 18
A1 Y1 C4 1uF
4 16 10 uF -5V
A2 Y2
6 14
A3 Y3 TP15
8 12 .001uF

GND
A4 Y4
+5V
D7

10
SN74AHC244PW C9
U4
C 5 100K 10K 2 C
+5V S5AC
7
R22

36
35
34
33
32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
U2 1uF - LASER DIODE CURRENT
6 0.3 SENSE RESISTOR
4 + J4
+5V C10
1 3

CH2
CH3
CH4
CH5
L1 GND 1
C6

RESET
U1B 100uH 100K 10K
INA143U

OPA1_IN-
19 TP16

SW1_OUT
OPA1_IN+
OPA3_IN+

OPA1_OUT
G S1812-104K 1uF

EXT_REF_IN
TP10 1uF
LASER 2

REF_OUT_2.5V
9 11
Y1 A1 -5V
7 13 ED555/2DS
Y2 A2
5 15 TP11 TP12 TP13
Y3 A3 LASER DRIVE
3 17
Y4 A4
37 24

1
2
3
SCLK OPA3_OUT
SN74AHC244PW 38 23 BIPOLAR UNIPOLAR
MOSI OPA3_IN-
39 22
MISO DAC1_OUT
40 21 JMP1
SS DAC1_OUT_SET MODE J5
C2 1uF 41 20 TP1
BVDD DAC2_OUT_SET ANODE
C1 1uF 42 19 1
DVDD AVDD R17
43 18 40.2K
DGND AGND
44 17
THERM_I_OUT DAC2_OUT CATHODE
45 16 2
ISET_RESISTOR OPA4_IN+
46 15 R13 4K
OPA7_IN- OPA4_OUT ED555/2DS
R3 1M 47 14
OPA7_OUT OPA4_IN- C7
C25 C3 48 13 BACK FACET MONITOR
OPA7_IN+ OPA5_IN+
A/D CHANNEL ASSIGNEMENTS 2pF
1uF 1uF
------------------------------------------------------- R2
100K R14
B CH0 Laser Drive Control Voltage B
TEC DRIVER OUT -
CH1 Back Facet Monitor 10K

CH2 TEC Drive Control Voltage R18

R12
10K 0.1 TEC CURRENT SENSE RESISTOR J6
CH3 Laser Drive Current Limit

SW2_OUT
T_SENSOR_VOLTAGE
OPA6_IN-
OPA6_OUT
OPA6_IN+
DAC0_OUT
DAC0_OUT_SET
OPA2_IN-
OPA2_OUT
OPA2_IN+
OPA5_IN-
OPA5_OUT
TEC +
CH4 Laser Current 1

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
CH5 Thermistor Voltage AMC7820PFB
TEC -
CH6 Voltage Across TEC 2
TP7 TP14
CH7 TEC Drive Current ED555/2DS
R10
TEC DRIVE
10K
R11
TEC DRIVER OUT +
R8 10K
D/A CHANNEL ASSIGNMENTS 40.2K
TP8 TEC DRIVER IN +
-------------------------------------------------------
DAC0 TEC Control
TP9
DAC1 Laser Drive Current Limit 0 - 1.2V - not used at this time R9 TP17
J7
DAC2 Laser Control
8.06K R15 1
VREF
40.2K
R16
2
8.06K
ED555/2DS
A THERMISTOR INPUT A
DATA ACQUISITION PRODUCTS
HIGH-PERFORMANCE ANALOG DIVISION
SEMICONDUCTOR GROUP
6730 SOUTH TUCSON BLVD., TUCSON, AZ 85706 USA
TITLE
ENGINEER RICK DOWNS
AMC7820 REFERENCE DESIGN
DRAWN BY BOB BENJAMIN
DOCUMENT CONTROL NO. 6436035 SIZE B DATE 15-Mar-2005 REV A
SHEET 1 OF 2 FILE G:\AMC7820REF\Schematic\AMC7820 REF.Ddb - Documents\AMC7820 REF

1 2 3 4 5 6

An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820

19
SBAA072A
20
SBAA072A

1 2 3 4 5 6
REVISION HISTORY
REV ENGINEERING CHANGE NUMBER APPROVED

D D

R26
3.24K
+5V
C13
1 uF

8
R23 2 U5A +5PV
10K 1 C18 1uF
3 C17

4
OPA2342EA
C19 10uF
D4B 100uF
+5V Thermal pad under
BAT54S
DRV591. Dimensions 5mm
X 5mm. Vias should be
equally spaced. Drill size
is 0.33mm (13 mils).
TEC DRIVER IN +
Thermal Pad is connected

32
31
30
29
28
27
26
25
U6 to GND pin, not PGND.
D4A

FREQ
PVDD
PVDD
PVDD
OUT +
OUT +
OUT +
C BAT54S C

INT/EXT
L2
C15 1uF C23
1 24
VDD OUT +
2 23 10uH
GND PGND 10uF
3 22 CDRH104R-100NC
R24 R27 ROSC PGND
U5B 4 21
768K COSC PGND
6 120K C16 1uF 5 20
AREF PGND
7 C14 6 19
IN + PGND
5 7 18 TEC DRIVER OUT +
IN - PGND
8 17
220pF SHUTDOWN OUT -
OPA2342EA
R25
432K C22
10uF

FAULT 1
FAULT 0
PVDD
PVDD
PVDD
OUT -
OUT -
OUT -
TEC DRIVER OUT -

9
DRV591VFP

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
L3
VREF C24

10uH
10uF
C20 CDRH104R-100NC
1uF
RESET
C21 10uF
R28
120K

+5PV

B B
R29 R30
1K 1K +5V +5PV
+5V
D5

FAULT 1

An Optical Amplifier Pump Laser Reference Design Based on the AMC7820

RED SML-LX0603IW-TR

D6

FAULT 0 NOTE: PGND and GND should be seperate

SML-LX0603YW-TR traces and connected only at power input.
YELLOW Traces should be sized to handle desired
current levels.

A A
DATA ACQUISITION PRODUCTS
HIGH-PERFORMANCE ANALOG DIVISION
SEMICONDUCTOR GROUP
6730 SOUTH TUCSON BLVD., TUCSON, AZ 85706 USA
TITLE
ENGINEER RICK DOWNS
TEC POWER DRIVER
DRAWN BY BOB BENJAMIN
DOCUMENT CONTROL NO. 6436035 SIZE B DATE 15-Mar-2005 REV A
SHEET 2 OF 2 FILE G:\AMC7820REF\Schematic\AMC7820 REF.Ddb - Documents\DRV591

1 2 3 4 5 6
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