CN112769035A

CN112769035A - Drive circuit, drive method and laser system

Info

Publication number: CN112769035A
Application number: CN202110160814.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘建峰; 向少卿
Original assignee: Hesai Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hesai Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-08-20
Filing date: 2019-08-20
Publication date: 2021-05-07
Also published as: CN110492349A; CN110492349B

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a driving circuit, a driving method, and a laser system. The drive circuit includes: a narrow pulse generator configured to generate a first narrow pulse based on an input pulse, a pulse width of the first narrow pulse being smaller than a pulse width of the input pulse; a voltage regulator configured to generate an adjustable output voltage; and a driving unit coupled with the narrow pulse generator and the voltage regulator and configured to form a second narrow pulse based on the first narrow pulse and the output voltage, wherein the second narrow pulse is suitable for driving the switch tube, the pulse width is approximately equal to that of the first narrow pulse, and the amplitude of the second narrow pulse depends on the magnitude of the output voltage of the voltage regulator. Thus, an output pulse can be formed whose pulse width and amplitude are independently adjustable. When such output pulses are used to drive a laser, the luminous energy of the laser can be rapidly adjusted over a large dynamic range.

Description

Drive circuit, drive method and laser system

The scheme is a divisional application of Chinese patent application with the patent application number of 201910770034.1 and the invention name of 'a driving circuit, a driving method and a laser system' filed on 20.8.2019.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of circuits, and more particularly, to a driving circuit, a driving method, and a laser system.

Background

In a system using a laser light source, physical characteristics of the laser light source such as a Laser Diode (LD) are often considered, and a driving current of the laser diode is required to be very high, and a low-noise and high-stability constant current source is required. With stable power drive, the laser pulse waveform can be stable, and an accurate pulse generation source is needed to enable the laser pulse to work stably.

The operating principle of the lidar is to transmit a detection signal (a laser beam or an optical signal) to a target, compare a received signal (a target echo) reflected from the target with the transmitted detection signal, and obtain information such as a distance, an orientation, and the like of the target after appropriate processing. In order to realize high ranging accuracy, long detection distance and high scanning rate, a laser is required to generate a laser pulse signal with a fast front edge, high peak current and narrow pulse width to be used as a detection signal. The laser beam front is fast, the time error is small, and the equivalent distance error is small. The higher the peak current of the laser pulse, the longer the distance the energy decays to 0, and thus the narrower the pulse width, the greater the number of laser pulses that can be emitted continuously in the same time interval. In order to ensure that no saturation distortion occurs for long, medium and short range detection, the emission energy of the laser is required to be dynamically adjustable in a wide range, for example, a pulse signal with large energy can be emitted at a long distance, and a pulse signal with small energy can be emitted at a short distance. The performance of the laser light source is generally excellent enough to completely meet the requirements of fast leading edge, high peak current and narrow pulse width, so the main influence factor on the signal quality of the laser pulse output by the laser radar is the performance of the driving circuit of the laser radar.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a laser system 100 of the prior art, in which a laser diode LD is grounded through a Power field effect transistor (Power FET), the turn-on and turn-off of which is controlled by a gate driver 110 coupled to the gate of the Power FET. The input to the gate driver 110 is an input pulse 112, the pulse width of the input pulse 112 ultimately determining the pulse width of the laser pulse emitted by the laser diode LD. The conducting state of the power fet and the supply voltage HV of the laser diode LD can be used to control the light emission energy of the laser diode LD. In the laser system 100 shown in fig. 1, the luminous energy value of the finally emitted laser pulse is generally changed by controlling the width of the driver input pulse or the supply voltage of the high voltage HV. The energy of the emitted light is equal to the light emitting power multiplied by the duration of the pulse (i.e. the pulse width), while the light emitting power is proportional to the current through the laser diode LD, so that, according to the knowledge of the inventors, there are generally two ways to vary the energy of the emitted light of the laser diode LD.

First, the luminous energy can be varied proportionally by varying the pulse width of the input pulses of the driver. However, for the method of changing the pulse width of the input pulse to change the light emission energy, the optical signal output pulse of the laser diode is widened, and the pulse widening limits the interval between adjacent pulses, thereby increasing the dead time of measurement and failing to realize laser pulse emission at higher frequency. Meanwhile, only by this method, since the peak current of the pulse is not changed and the detection distance corresponding to the unsaturated distortion is not changed, the detection of the unsaturated distortion at the long distance, the middle distance and the short distance cannot be simultaneously realized.

In the second mode, assuming that the on-resistances of the laser diode LD and the Power field effect transistor (Power FET) are constant, the current flowing in the laser diode can be changed by changing the HV, thereby realizing the change of the light emission energy. However, for the method of changing the light emission energy by changing the HV, there is a problem in that the HV is generated by the voltage boost circuit, and the HV needs to be changed by controlling the voltage boost circuit, but the switching rate of the voltage boost circuit is low, so that a long settling time is left between two adjustments, that is, a quick adjustment cannot be realized. Another problem is that in a multi-channel lidar system, the HV is generally shared by multiple channels, and if the HV is used to control the light emission energy of each channel independently, the system needs to have multiple independent boost circuits, thereby greatly increasing the complexity of the system.

The statements in this background section merely represent techniques known to the public and are not, of course, representative of the prior art.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art, it is an object of the technical solution described in the present disclosure to provide an improved driving circuit.

In one aspect, there is provided a driving circuit, comprising: a narrow pulse generator configured to generate a first narrow pulse based on an input pulse, a pulse width of the first narrow pulse being smaller than a pulse width of the input pulse; a voltage regulator configured to generate an adjustable output voltage; and a driving unit coupled with the narrow pulse generator and the voltage regulator and configured to form a second narrow pulse based on the first narrow pulse and the output voltage, wherein the second narrow pulse is suitable for driving the switch tube, the pulse width is approximately equal to that of the first narrow pulse, and the amplitude of the second narrow pulse depends on the magnitude of the output voltage of the voltage regulator. According to the driving circuit, an output pulse whose pulse width and amplitude are independently adjustable can be formed. When such an output pulse is used to drive a laser radar, the light emission energy of the semiconductor laser can be rapidly adjusted in a large dynamic range.

In one embodiment, the voltage regulator may include: a voltage-mode digital-to-analog converter configured to receive a voltage DAC numeric control input and generate an analog voltage; and the voltage follower is coupled with the voltage type digital-to-analog converter and the driving unit, and is configured to perform voltage stabilization operation on the analog voltage output by the voltage type digital-to-analog converter and output the adjustable output voltage.

In one embodiment, the voltage follower may include: an operational amplifier, a first PMOS transistor (M0), and a capacitor (C1). The inverting input end of the operational amplifier is coupled with the voltage type digital-to-analog converter, the non-inverting input end of the operational amplifier is coupled with the drain electrode of the first PMOS transistor (M0), and the output end of the operational amplifier is coupled with the grid electrode of the first PMOS transistor (M0). The source of the first PMOS transistor (M0) is coupled to the supply Voltage (VDD), and the drain of the first PMOS transistor (M0) is coupled to ground through the capacitor (C1).

In one embodiment, the narrow pulse generator may include: a current mode digital-to-analog converter configured to receive a current DAC digital control input and generate an output current; a current control delay unit configured to receive the input pulse and coupled to the current-mode digital-to-analog converter to delay the input pulse according to an output current of the current-mode digital-to-analog converter; an in-phase buffer configured to temporarily store the input pulse; and a logic and gate having a first input connected to the current control delay unit and a second input connected to the in-phase buffer (I2) and configured to generate the first narrow pulse based on the delayed input pulse and the buffered input pulse, wherein a pulse width of the first narrow pulse is a delay difference between the buffered input pulse and the delayed input pulse.

In one embodiment, the driving unit may include: a second PMOS transistor (M1) and a first NMOS transistor (M2). The gate of the second PMOS transistor (M1) is connected to the gate of the first NMOS transistor (M2) and is configured to receive the first narrow pulse output by the narrow pulse generator. The source of the second PMOS transistor (M1) is connected to the voltage regulator and configured to receive the output voltage of the voltage regulator, and the source of the first NMOS transistor (M2) is grounded. A drain of the second PMOS transistor (M1) is connected to a drain of the first NMOS transistor (M2), and is configured to output the second narrow pulse.

In one embodiment, the driving unit may further include: and the input end of the pre-driving unit is connected with the output end of the narrow pulse generator, and the pre-driving unit is configured to amplify the current driving capability of the received first narrow pulse in one or more stages.

In one embodiment, the pre-driver unit may include cascaded multi-stage inverting amplifiers.

In another aspect, there is provided a driving method, including: generating a first narrow pulse based on an input pulse, the first narrow pulse having a pulse width less than a pulse width of the input pulse; generating an adjustable output voltage; and generating a second narrow pulse based on the first narrow pulse and the output voltage, wherein a pulse width of the second narrow pulse is substantially equal to a pulse width of the first narrow pulse, and an amplitude of the second narrow pulse depends on a magnitude of the adjustable output voltage.

In one embodiment, the generating the adjustable output voltage further comprises: receiving numerical control input through a voltage type digital-to-analog converter and generating analog voltage; and performing voltage stabilization operation on the analog voltage output by the voltage type digital-to-analog converter to generate the adjustable output voltage.

In one embodiment, the generating a first narrow pulse based on the input pulse further comprises: receiving the input pulse and temporarily storing the input pulse; receiving a numerical control input through a current type digital-to-analog converter and generating an output current; receiving the input pulse, and delaying the input pulse according to the output current of the current type digital-to-analog converter; and generating the first narrow pulse based on the delayed input pulse and a temporally stored input pulse.

In one embodiment, said generating a second narrow pulse based on said first narrow pulse and said output voltage further comprises: and amplifying the current driving capability of the received first narrow pulse in one or more stages.

In yet another aspect, there is provided a laser system comprising: the narrow pulse driving circuit described above; the grid electrode of the transistor is coupled with the output end of the narrow pulse high-power device driving circuit, the second narrow pulse is used for controlling the on-off of the transistor, the source electrode of the transistor is grounded, and the drain electrode of the transistor is coupled with the laser.

In one embodiment, the laser further comprises: the laser diode, the resistor, the second capacitor and the freewheeling diode, and the transistor is an NMOS high-power transistor. A cathode of the laser diode is coupled to a drain of the NMOS high power transistor, an anode of the laser diode is coupled to a first terminal of the resistor, a second terminal of the resistor is coupled to a second supply voltage (HV), an anode of the freewheel diode is coupled to the cathode of the laser diode, a cathode of the freewheel diode is coupled to the second terminal of the resistor, and the second capacitor is arranged between the second terminal of the resistor and ground.

The advantages of the disclosed embodiments are manifested in at least the following aspects:

1. the pulse width of the first narrow pulse and the amplitude of the current flowing through the laser diode can be respectively adjusted in a digital mode, and the light-emitting energy of the laser can be adjusted in a fast and large dynamic range easily.

2. The pulse width of the first narrow pulse and the amplitude of the current flowing through the laser diode are two independently adjustable quantities, and can be adjusted according to system requirements, for example, the pulse width can be kept at 3ns, and the peak value of the current is changed to simultaneously ensure that the pulse width of the emitted laser pulse is narrow, the leading edge is fast, the adjustable range of the luminous energy is large, and the adjustable range of the luminous energy does not exceed the laser energy threshold value specified by human eye safety.

3. By regulating the voltage range of the gate of the MOSFET, a very high output current regulation ratio range can be obtained, for example, the input voltage can be changed by 4 times (0.95V-6.2V), and the output current can be changed by 389 times (202 mA-78.67A).

The features and advantages described in the specification are not all inclusive and, in particular, many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings and specification. Moreover, it should be noted that the terminology used in the description has been chosen primarily for readability and instructional purposes, and may not have been chosen to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the disclosure and are not to limit the disclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a laser system of the prior art;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a schematic structural diagram of circuitry for driving an external device using a driver circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a schematic structural diagram of circuitry for driving an external device using a driver circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a schematic diagram of one particular implementation of circuitry for driving an external device using a driver circuit according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a waveform diagram of simulation results for the circuitry of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, where the simulation conditions are a single input pulse and multiple reference voltages;

FIG. 6 schematically shows a waveform diagram of simulation results of the circuitry of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, wherein the simulation conditions are two input pulses and two reference voltages;

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a simulated waveform of peak current through a laser diode as a function of reference voltage; and

fig. 8 schematically shows a driving method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In the following, only certain exemplary embodiments are briefly described. As those skilled in the art can appreciate, the described embodiments can be modified in various different ways, without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of apparatus, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

In the description of the present disclosure, it is to be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "straight", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", and the like, indicate orientations or positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, but do not indicate or imply that the device or element being referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed in a particular orientation, and be operated, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the present disclosure. Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defined as "first", "second", may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the described features. In the description of the present disclosure, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically limited otherwise.

In the description of the present disclosure, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and the like are to be construed broadly and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected: may be mechanically connected, may be electrically connected or may be in communication with each other; either directly or indirectly through intervening media, either internally or in any other relationship. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art as appropriate. For example, the present disclosure uses the term "coupled" to indicate that the connection between two terminals can be direct connection, indirect connection through an intermediate medium, electrically wired connection, or wireless connection.

In the present disclosure, unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, the first feature "on" or "under" the second feature may comprise the first and second features being in direct contact, or may comprise the first and second features being in contact, not directly, but via another feature in between. Also, the first feature being "on," "above" and "over" the second feature includes the first feature being directly on and obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicating that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature includes the first feature being directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply meaning that the first feature is at a lesser level than the second feature.

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different features of the disclosure. To simplify the disclosure of the present disclosure, specific example components and arrangements are described below. Of course, they are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Moreover, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or reference letters in the various examples, which have been repeated for purposes of simplicity and clarity and do not in themselves dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or arrangements discussed. In addition, the present disclosure provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize applications of other processes and/or use of other materials.

It is to be noted that, unless otherwise specified, technical or scientific terms used in the present disclosure shall have the ordinary meaning as understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described below in conjunction with the appended drawings, it being understood that the preferred embodiments described herein are merely for purposes of illustrating and explaining the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 schematically shows a schematic configuration of a circuit system for driving an external device using a driving circuit 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 2, the driving circuit 200 includes a narrow pulse generator 210, a voltage regulator 220, and a driving unit 230. The device driven by the driving circuit 200 comprises a switching tube 240 and a load 250, and the switching tube 240 is used as a power supply switch of the load 250.

The narrow pulse generator 210 is configured to generate a first narrow pulse 22 based on the input pulse 20, the first narrow pulse 22 having a pulse width smaller than that of the input pulse 20. The voltage regulator 220 is configured to generate an adjustable output voltage. The driving unit 230 is coupled with the narrow pulse generator 210 and the voltage regulator 220, and is configured to form the second narrow pulse 24 based on the first narrow pulse 22 and an output voltage of the voltage regulator 220. The second narrow pulse 24 is adapted to drive an external switching tube 240. The switch tube 240 is coupled to a load 250, and when the switch tube 240 is turned on, the load 250 is powered, and when the switch tube 240 is turned off, no current flows through the load 250. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a pulse width of the second narrow pulse is substantially equal to a pulse width of the first narrow pulse, and an amplitude of the second narrow pulse depends on a magnitude of an output voltage of the voltage regulator. The output voltage of the voltage regulator 220 is adjustable between zero and a preset value, so that the amplitude of the second narrow pulse formed by the driving circuit 200 can be varied between zero and a preset value.

Fig. 3 schematically shows a schematic configuration diagram of a circuit system for driving an external device using a driving circuit 300 according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to fig. 3, the driving circuit 300 includes: a narrow pulse generator 210, a pre-drive unit 232, a final stage driver 234, a voltage type digital-to-analog converter 222, and a voltage follower 224. The driver circuit 300 may be used to drive a field effect transistor (MOSFET transistor) 242 and control the semiconductor laser 252 through the MOSFET transistor 242.

The narrow pulse generator 210 is configured to generate a first narrow pulse 22 based on the input pulse 20, the first narrow pulse 22 having a pulse width smaller than that of the input pulse 20.

The input terminal of the pre-driving unit 232 is coupled to the output terminal of the narrow pulse generator 210, and is configured to amplify the current driving capability of the received first narrow pulse by one or more stages so as to meet the driving requirement of the device coupled at the output terminal thereof. In the cascade amplification process of the pre-driver unit 232, it may also involve inverting amplification of the input pulse. The final driver 234 has an input coupled to the output of the pre-driver 232 for performing final amplification to meet the driving requirements of the MOSFET coupled to the driving circuit 300. The final stage driver 234 may also involve inverting the received input pulse to accommodate the drive requirements of the coupled MOSFET tubes.

Voltage mode digital to analog converter 222 is configured to receive a voltage DAC digital control input and generate an analog voltage. The voltage DAC 222 can output an adjustable output voltage as the reference voltage V of the driving unit_REFOr a control voltage. An input terminal of the voltage follower 224 is coupled to an output terminal of the voltage-type dac 222, and is configured to perform a voltage stabilizing operation on an analog voltage output by the voltage-type dac. The output of voltage follower 224 is coupled to final driver 234 and provides an adjustable output voltage to the final driver as a supply voltage for the final driver for controlling the amplitude of second narrow pulse 24 formed by final driver 234. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the pulse width of the second narrow pulse 24 is substantially equal to the pulse width of the first narrow pulse 22, and the amplitude of the second narrow pulse 24 depends on the magnitude of the output voltage of the voltage follower 224. Thus, the pulse width and amplitude of the second narrow pulse 24 are independently adjustable.

The emission process of one laser pulse of the circuitry depicted in fig. 3 is as follows. The first narrow pulse 22 can be output by adjusting the pulse width of the input pulse 20 to the order of nanoseconds (ns) by the narrow pulse generator 210. Then, the first narrow pulse 22 is output to the final stage through the pre-drive unit 232A driver 234. The supply voltage of the final driver 234 is provided by the voltage follower 224, and the input voltage of the voltage follower 224 is derived from the reference voltage V generated by the voltage-type DAC 222_REFI.e. the high level of the output pulse of the final driver 234 is V_REF. The second narrow pulse 24 formed by the final stage driver 234 is used to drive the gate of the MOSFET transistor 242. After the MOSFET tube 242 is turned on, the semiconductor laser 252 (e.g., laser diode LD) is activated to generate a laser pulse. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the DAC 222 outputs the adjustable reference voltage V by varying the voltage of the digital control input_REFThe amplitude of the driving pulse output to the gate of the MOSFET 242 is dependent on the reference voltage V_REFAnd thus the current peak value of the laser pulse emitted by the semiconductor laser 252 may also vary within a certain range.

On the one hand, by changing the digital control input of the voltage DAC, the grid voltage of the MOSFET tube can be changed, and therefore the peak value of the current flowing through the semiconductor laser can be changed. On the other hand, laser driving pulses of a narrower pulse width are generated by the narrow pulse generator 210, so that laser pulse emission of a higher frequency can be realized.

In one embodiment, the pre-driver unit 232 includes cascaded multiple stages of inverting amplifiers, wherein the input-to-output ratio of each stage of inverting amplifier may be between 1:3 and 1:5, i.e., the driving capability of the (N + 1) th stage of inverting amplifier is approximately 3 to 5 times the driving capability of the nth stage of inverting amplifier. The inverter size (amplification capability) of the output of the pre-driver unit 232 may be, for example, 1/3 of the size of the final driver 234.

Fig. 4 schematically shows a schematic diagram of one specific implementation of circuitry for driving an external device using a driver circuit 400 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 4, the narrow pulse generator 210 may include: the current-mode digital-to-analog converter I0, the current-controlled delay unit I1, the in-phase buffer I2 and the logic AND gate I3. Current mode digital to analog converter I0 may be configured to receive a current DAC digital control input (not shown) and generate an output current. The current control delay unit I1 may be configured to receive the input pulse 20 and coupled to the current-mode digital-to-analog converter I0 to delay the input pulse 20 according to an output current of the current-mode digital-to-analog converter. The in-phase buffer I2 is configured to temporarily store the input pulse 20. A first input of the logic and gate I3 is coupled to the output of the current-controlled delay cell I1, and a second input is coupled to the output of the in-phase buffer I2, configured to generate a first narrow pulse based on the delayed input pulse and the buffered input pulse. The pulse width of the first narrow pulse is the delay difference between the temporarily stored input pulse and the delayed input pulse. Thus, the narrow pulse generator 210 generates a narrow pulse having a narrower pulse width than the input pulse 20 at the output end (point B). In one embodiment, the pulse width adjustment range of the first narrow pulse generated by narrow pulse generator 210 is 1ns to 1 μ s. According to the embodiment of the invention, the controllable delay unit is adjusted by adopting the current-type digital-to-analog converter, so that the digitally-controlled narrow pulse output can be realized.

In fig. 4, the pre-drive unit 232 includes a cascade of multi-stage inverting amplifiers.

Referring to fig. 4, the voltage follower 224 may include: an operational amplifier (OPA) a1, a first PMOS transistor M0, and a capacitor C1. The inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier a1 is coupled to the output terminal (point D) of the voltage-type dac 222, the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier is coupled to the drain of the first PMOS transistor M0, and the output terminal of the operational amplifier is coupled to the gate of the first PMOS transistor M0. The source of the first PMOS transistor M0 is connected to the supply voltage VDD, and the drain of the first PMOS transistor M0 serves as the output of the voltage follower 224 and is grounded through the capacitor C1.

In one embodiment, the unity gain bandwidth of the operational amplifier a1 may range from 1MHz to 1 GHz. In one embodiment, the value of capacitor C1 may range from 1nF to 100 nF. In one embodiment, the amplitude of the adjustable output voltage output by the voltage follower 224 ranges from 0V to 5V, and thus, the amplitude of the second narrow pulse generated by the final stage driver 234 ranges from 0V to 5V.

Referring to fig. 4, the final stage driver 234 may include: a PMOS transistor M1 and an NMOS transistor M2. The gate of the PMOS transistor M1 is connected to the gate of the NMOS transistor M2, and is configured to receive the first narrow pulse output by the narrow pulse generator 210 amplified by the pre-driver unit 232. The source of the PMOS transistor M1 is coupled to the output of the voltage regulator 224 and is configured to receive the output voltage of the voltage regulator (point E). The source of the NMOS transistor M2 is grounded. The drain of the PMOS transistor M1 is coupled to the drain of the NMOS transistor M2 (point C). The final stage driver 234 is configured to form a second narrow pulse based on the input current pulse and the output voltage of the voltage regulator, the second narrow pulse being adapted to drive the MOSFET tube connected thereto.

The output terminal of the driving circuit 400 is coupled to the gate of the MOSFET transistor. The source electrode of the MOSFET is grounded, and the drain electrode is connected to the cathode electrode of the laser diode LD. The schematic circuit diagram of the semiconductor laser 252 may include a laser diode LD, a freewheeling diode D1, a filter capacitor C2, a trace parasitic capacitance Rp, and a high voltage source HV. In fig. 4, the MOSFET transistor employs an enhancement mode power transistor GaN NMOS FET (edan FET). In one embodiment, the supply voltage HV ranges from 10V to 100V, and the filter capacitor C2 ranges from 0.1nF to 100 nF.

The working principle thereof is described with reference to fig. 4. Voltage mode DAC 222 is configured to receive a voltage DAC digital control input and generate a reference voltage V_REF(point D). In the voltage follower 224, according to the principle of the operational amplifier, when negative feedback is established, the voltages of the non-inverting input terminal and the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier a1 are equal, and since the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier a1 is connected to the drain of the PMOS transistor M0, the output current capability is greatly enhanced, and the last driver 234 module can be better driven. The narrow pulse generator 210 can adjust the output delay of the current control delay unit I1 by adjusting the output current of the current-mode digital-to-analog converter I0. The buffered in-phase signal and the delayed anti-phase signal of the input pulse 20 are output to the logic and gate I3, so that the pulse width output by the logic and gate I3 is the delay difference of I1 and I2, i.e., the narrow pulse excitation is formed by the delay difference (point B, first narrow pulse). Narrow pulse excitation through a pre-driver unit 232 or intermediate driver formed by a cascade of multi-stage invertersThe link is amplified to be suitable for driving the final driver 234. A second narrow pulse (point C) whose amplitude can be changed in accordance with the change of the reference voltage (point D) is formed at the output terminal of the final stage driver 234 for driving the MOSFET tube 242 coupled thereto and the semiconductor laser 252 as a load. In one embodiment, the gate drive voltage used to drive the MOSFET transistor is regulated in a range of 1.2V to 5V.

Referring to fig. 4, at the voltage V of the input pulse 20_AWhen the voltage is 0V, the voltage V at point B_BVoltage V at 0V, C point_C0V. At this time, the MOSFET tube 242 is in an off state, no current flows through the semiconductor laser 252, and the laser diode LD does not emit light. At the voltage V of the input pulse 20_AWhen the voltage is 5V, the voltage V at the point B_BVoltage V at 5V, C point_CVoltage V equal to point E_EIs also equal to the voltage V at point D_DI.e. reference voltage V_REF. Therefore, at this time, the current of the laser diode LD is determined by the current-voltage characteristic (I-V characteristic) of the MOSFET tube 242.

Assuming that the threshold voltage of the MOSFET 242 is Vth, when the reference voltage is V_REFLess than Vth, the MOSFET is in the off state; when reference voltage V_REFAfter the threshold voltage Vth is exceeded, the MOSFET 242 enters the sub-threshold region, and the current and voltage difference (V) flowing through the MOSFET 242_REFVth) increases exponentially; when reference voltage V_REFWhen the threshold voltage Vth is higher than several tens of millivolts (mV), the MOSFET 242 enters the saturation region, and the current I flowing through the photodiode_LDComprises the following steps:

I_LD＝β(V_REF-V_th)²

wherein, β is the current coefficient of the MOSFET working in the saturation region.

Meanwhile, according to the current characteristic of the HV branch circuit from top to bottom, the voltage difference value of the drain electrode and the source electrode of the MOSFET is as follows:

V_DS＝HV-I_LD×(R_P+R_LD)

wherein R is_PIs parasitic resistance of the trace between the drain of the MOSFET and HV_LDIs the impedance of the laser diode when it is on, as_LDGradually increase in value ofDrain-source voltage V of MOSFET_DSGradually decrease when the over-drive voltage (V) of the MOSFET is applied_REFVth) is greater than V_DSWhen the MOSFET is in the linear region, the working state of the MOSFET is transited from the saturation region to the linear region. The current I finally flowing through the photodiode_LDIs approximately equal to:

R_DS，onfor the impedance of a MOSFET tube operating in the linear region, the value is approximately:

according to the embodiment of the invention, the controllable delay unit is adjusted by adopting the current-type digital-to-analog converter, so that the digitally-controlled narrow pulse output can be realized. According to the embodiment of the invention, the reference voltage of digital regulation is realized by adopting the voltage type digital-to-analog converter, and the gate driving voltage of digital regulation of the MOSFET can be realized by combining the voltage follower and the driver at the rear end, so that the digital regulation of the output current of the laser diode is realized.

In one embodiment, the voltage type digital-to-analog converter 222, the voltage follower 224, the narrow pulse generator 210, the pre-driver unit 232, and the final driver 234 are all low voltage devices. For example, the power supply voltage is lower than 5V, and the MOS transistors M0, M1 and M2 are 5V silicon CMOS devices. The MOSFET transistor 242 and the laser diode are high voltage devices, for example, with a supply voltage HV of 60V.

The MOSFET can adopt an enhancement mode power transistor which adopts a GaN material and has higher electron mobility and voltage resistance, and the drain-source voltage V_DSMaximum supporting 100V, current I flowing through the laser diode_LDMaximum support 75A, gate-source voltage V_GSThe threshold voltage Vth can be controlled to 1V by 0-5V. The current threshold Ith of the laser diode LD in the semiconductor laser is 0.75A, which can be input under typical conditionsCurrent 30A, output 75W optical power, peak input current 40A, peak optical output power 90W.

It should be understood that the voltage type digital-to-analog converter 222, the voltage follower 224, the narrow pulse generator 210, the pre-driver unit 232, and the final driver 234 can be implemented by the same semiconductor process, and thus can be integrated in one chip.

Fig. 5 schematically shows a waveform diagram of a simulation result of the circuit system of the embodiment shown in fig. 4. The simulation is conditioned in that the drive circuit 400 is inputted with one input pulse 20 while the code value of the digital control input of the voltage DAC is varied in a plurality of values. The waveform of the voltage of the input pulse 20 (i.e., the voltage VA at the point a in fig. 4) is shown as the waveform 51 in fig. 5, and the pulse width of the waveform of VA is 10 ns. The code value of the digital control input of the voltage DAC varies from 000000 to 111111, so that the output voltage V of the voltage type DAC 222_DAre different values, 64 voltage waveforms are generated that are adjustable over a voltage range of 1.2V to 5V, as shown by waveform 54 in fig. 5. Thus, the voltage waveform at point E is also a multiple of adjustable, as shown by waveform 55 in fig. 5.

In FIG. 5,

waveforms

52, 53 and 56 shown from top to bottom are sequentially the voltage V at point B, with the code value digitally controlled by the continuously varying voltage DAC upon energization of input pulse 20_B Waveform 52, voltage V at point C_CWaveform 53 and current I of laser diode LD_LDIs shown superimposed on waveform 56. It can be easily seen that the code value (corresponding to the reference voltage (V)) is changed with the digital control input of the voltage DAC_D) Change of (C), the voltage waveform of the output pulse of the drive circuit 400 (voltage V at point C)_CWaveform 53) and current I of the laser diode LD_LDThe waveform 56 changes accordingly.

Voltage V of input pulse 20_AThe voltage waveform of (2) has a pulse width of 10ns, and the voltage V generated after passing through the narrow pulse generator 210_BThe pulse width of the voltage waveform of (2) becomes 3ns as shown by waveform 52 in fig. 5. The high level of the voltage VB is fixed at about 5V and does not follow the reference voltage V_DChanges in the voltage value of the voltage.

Voltage V of output voltage of narrow pulse generator 210_BAfter passing through the pre-driver 232 and the final driver 234, a voltage V is formed_C，V_CHas a pulse width substantially equal to the voltage V_BPulse width of waveform of (V)_CWith the amplitude of the waveform of the reference voltage V_DMay vary.

Voltage V_CThe gate of the MOSFET 242 is controlled to control the on/off of the MOSFET 242, and a current I is formed in the laser diode LD when the MOSFET 242 is turned on_LDCurrent I of_LDWith reference voltage V_DMay vary.

Fig. 6 schematically shows a waveform diagram of a simulation result of the circuit system of the embodiment shown in fig. 4. The simulation condition is that the drive circuit 400 is input with two input pulses 20 in sequence, one input pulse is at 50 mus, the other input pulse is at 50.4 mus, and simultaneously, the code value of the voltage DAC numerical control input is correspondingly adjusted once, so that the reference voltage V is enabled to be a reference voltage V_DIs reduced from 5V at the arrival time of the previous input pulse to 2.7V at the arrival time of the subsequent input pulse. As can be seen from the simulation results of FIG. 6, the output voltage V of the voltage follower_EWith reference to a voltage V_DIs changed by the change of the current I flowing through the laser diode LD_LDIs dependent on the pulse width of the input pulse and its peak current is subject to a reference voltage V_DAnd (4) controlling.

FIG. 7 schematically shows the peak current of a laser diode LD as a function of a reference voltage V_DAnd (5) changing simulation results. In the interval that the reference voltage changes from 1.2V to 5V, the peak value of the current changes from 202mA to 78.67A, and the change relation of the current with the voltage is analyzed as before, firstly, the current increases exponentially with the rise of the voltage; then, after the reference voltage rises to be more than the threshold voltage Vth of the MOSFET tube by dozens of mV, the MOSFET tube enters a saturation region, and a current curve rises according to a quadratic curve with an upward opening; when the drain-source voltage V of the MOSFET tube_DSEqual to the overdrive voltage (V)_REFVth), the MOSFET tube gradually transitions into a linear region with the current curve following a downward openingThe quadratic curve gradually changes to no more increase until the maximum current value is reached.

In one embodiment, the current threshold of the selected laser diode is 1A, and the maximum current is 40A. Therefore, when the reference voltage V is_DIn the interval from 0.95V to 6.2V, the output current variation range of the MOSFET can completely meet the input current requirement of the laser diode.

As shown in fig. 8, the present disclosure also provides a driving method 500, for example, implemented by the driving

circuits

200, 300, 400 described above.

The driving method 500 includes: step S1: generating a first narrow pulse based on an input pulse, the first narrow pulse having a pulse width less than a pulse width of the input pulse; step S2: generating an adjustable output voltage; and step S3: generating a second narrow pulse based on the first narrow pulse and the output voltage, wherein a pulse width of the second narrow pulse is substantially equal to a pulse width of the first narrow pulse, and an amplitude of the second narrow pulse depends on a magnitude of the adjustable output voltage.

Further, step S2 may further include: receiving numerical control input through a voltage type digital-to-analog converter and generating analog voltage; and performing voltage stabilization operation on the analog voltage output by the voltage type digital-to-analog converter to generate the adjustable output voltage.

Further, step S1 may further include: receiving the input pulse and temporarily storing the input pulse; receiving a numerical control input through a current type digital-to-analog converter and generating an output current; receiving the input pulse, and delaying the input pulse according to the output current of the current type digital-to-analog converter; and generating the first narrow pulse based on the delayed input pulse and a temporally stored input pulse.

Further, step S3 may further include: and amplifying the current driving capability of the received first narrow pulse in one or more stages.

The present disclosure also provides a laser system comprising: the narrow pulse driving circuit described above; the grid electrode of the transistor is coupled with the output end of the narrow pulse high-power device driving circuit, the second narrow pulse is used for controlling the on-off of the transistor, the source electrode of the transistor is grounded, and the drain electrode of the transistor is coupled with the laser.

2. The pulse width of the first narrow pulse and the amplitude of the current flowing through the laser diode are two independently adjustable quantities, so that the optimal performance can be ensured according to the system requirements, for example, the pulse width can be kept at 3ns, and the pulse width of the emitted laser pulse is narrow, the leading edge is fast, the adjustable range of the luminous energy is large, and the laser energy does not exceed the laser energy threshold value specified by the safety of human eyes by changing the peak value of the current.

3. By regulating the grid voltage of the MOSFET, a very high output current regulation ratio can be obtained, for example, the input voltage can be changed by 4 times (0.95V-6.2V), and the output current can be changed by 389 times (202 mA-78.67A).

It should be appreciated that the foregoing exemplary methods may be implemented in various ways, for example, in some embodiments, the foregoing methods may be implemented using software and/or firmware modules, as well as hardware modules. Other ways, now known or later developed, are also feasible, and the scope of the present invention is not limited in this respect. In particular, embodiments of the invention may be implemented in the form of a computer program product, in addition to hardware embodiments.

It should be noted that the embodiments of the present invention can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. The hardware portion may be implemented using dedicated logic; the software portions may be stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system, such as a microprocessor or specially designed hardware. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the apparatus and methods described above may be implemented using computer executable instructions and/or embodied in processor control code, such code being provided on a carrier medium such as a disk, CD-or DVD-ROM, programmable memory such as read only memory (firmware), or a data carrier such as an optical or electronic signal carrier, for example. The apparatus and modules thereof of the present invention may be implemented by hardware circuits such as very large scale integrated circuits or gate arrays, semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable logic devices, etc., or by software executed by various types of processors, or by a combination of hardware circuits and software, such as firmware.

It should be noted that although in the above detailed description several modules or sub-modules of the apparatus are mentioned, this division is only not mandatory. Indeed, the features and functions of two or more of the modules described above may be implemented in one module according to embodiments of the invention. Conversely, the features and functions of one module described above may be further divided into embodiments by a plurality of modules.

While the invention has been described with reference to what are presently considered to be the embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the embodiments and/or equivalents thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement and the like made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A drive circuit, comprising:

a narrow pulse generator configured to generate a first narrow pulse based on an input pulse, a pulse width of the first narrow pulse being smaller than a pulse width of the input pulse;

a voltage regulator configured to generate an adjustable output voltage;

a driving unit coupled with the narrow pulse generator and the voltage regulator and configured to form a second narrow pulse based on the first narrow pulse and the output voltage, wherein the second narrow pulse is suitable for driving a switching tube, a pulse width of the second narrow pulse is approximately equal to a pulse width of the first narrow pulse, and an amplitude of the second narrow pulse depends on a magnitude of the output voltage of the voltage regulator.

2. The driving circuit according to claim 1, wherein the voltage regulator comprises:

a voltage-mode digital-to-analog converter configured to receive a voltage DAC numeric control input and generate an analog voltage; and

and the voltage follower is coupled with the voltage type digital-to-analog converter and the driving unit, and is configured to perform voltage stabilization operation on the analog voltage output by the voltage type digital-to-analog converter and output the adjustable output voltage.

3. The drive circuit of claim 2, wherein the voltage follower comprises: an operational amplifier, a first PMOS transistor (M0) and a capacitor (C1),

wherein the inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier is coupled to the voltage-type DAC, the non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier is coupled to the drain of the first PMOS transistor (M0), the output terminal of the operational amplifier is coupled to the gate of the first PMOS transistor (M0),

wherein the source of the first PMOS transistor (M0) is coupled to the supply Voltage (VDD), and the drain of the first PMOS transistor (M0) is grounded through the capacitor (C1).

4. The drive circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the narrow pulse generator comprises:

a current mode digital-to-analog converter configured to receive a current DAC digital control input and generate an output current;

a current control delay unit configured to receive the input pulse and coupled to the current-mode digital-to-analog converter to delay the input pulse according to an output current of the current-mode digital-to-analog converter;

an in-phase buffer configured to temporarily store the input pulse; and

a logic and gate, a first input terminal of which is connected to the current control delay unit, and a second input terminal of which is connected to the in-phase buffer, configured to generate the first narrow pulse based on the delayed input pulse and the buffered input pulse, wherein a pulse width of the first narrow pulse is a delay difference between the buffered input pulse and the delayed input pulse.

5. The drive circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the drive unit includes: a second PMOS transistor (M1) and a first NMOS transistor (M2),

wherein a gate of the second PMOS transistor (M1) is connected to a gate of the first NMOS transistor (M2) and configured to receive the first narrow pulse output by the narrow pulse generator,

wherein the source of the second PMOS transistor (M1) is connected to the voltage regulator, configured to receive the output voltage of the voltage regulator, the source of the first NMOS transistor (M2) is connected to ground,

wherein the drain of the second PMOS transistor (M1) is connected to the drain of the first NMOS transistor (M2) and configured to output the second narrow pulse.

6. The drive circuit according to claim 5, wherein the drive unit further comprises:

and the input end of the pre-driving unit is connected with the output end of the narrow pulse generator, and the pre-driving unit is configured to amplify the current driving capability of the received first narrow pulse in one or more stages.

7. The driving circuit according to claim 6, wherein the pre-driving unit comprises cascaded multi-stage inverting amplifiers.

8. A driving method, comprising:

generating a first narrow pulse based on an input pulse, the first narrow pulse having a pulse width less than a pulse width of the input pulse;

generating an adjustable output voltage; and

generating a second narrow pulse based on the first narrow pulse and the output voltage, wherein a pulse width of the second narrow pulse is substantially equal to a pulse width of the first narrow pulse, and an amplitude of the second narrow pulse is dependent on a magnitude of the adjustable output voltage.

9. The driving method according to claim 8, wherein the generating an adjustable output voltage further comprises:

receiving numerical control input through a voltage type digital-to-analog converter and generating analog voltage; and

and performing voltage stabilization operation on the analog voltage output by the voltage type digital-to-analog converter to generate the adjustable output voltage.

10. The driving method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the generating a first narrow pulse based on the input pulse further comprises:

receiving the input pulse and temporarily storing the input pulse;

receiving a numerical control input through a current type digital-to-analog converter and generating an output current;

receiving the input pulse, and delaying the input pulse according to the output current of the current type digital-to-analog converter; and

generating the first narrow pulse based on the delayed input pulse and a temporally stored input pulse.

11. The driving method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the generating a second narrow pulse based on the first narrow pulse and the output voltage further comprises:

and amplifying the current driving capability of the received first narrow pulse in one or more stages.

12. A laser system, comprising:

a drive circuit according to any one of claims 1-7;

a laser; and

and the grid electrode of the transistor is coupled with the output end of the driving circuit, the second narrow pulse is used for controlling the on-off of the transistor, the source electrode of the transistor is grounded, and the drain electrode of the transistor is coupled with the laser.

13. The laser system of claim 12, wherein the laser further comprises: a laser diode, a resistor, a second capacitor and a freewheeling diode, the transistor is an NMOS high-power transistor,

wherein the cathode of the laser diode is coupled to the drain of the NMOS high power transistor, the anode of the laser diode is coupled through a first end of the resistor, a second end of the resistor is coupled to a second supply voltage (HV), the anode of the freewheel diode is coupled to the cathode of the laser diode, the cathode of the freewheel diode is coupled to the second end of the resistor, and the second capacitor is arranged between the second end of the resistor and ground.