About MatchBox Series

MatchBox Lasers

The MatchBox Series is a powerful platform, encompassing CW lasers, up to 4-wavelength diode lasers, and Q-Switch nanosecond lasers. It offers the simplicity of integration and selection of >150 products within the series.


Compact turn-key laser system

Features

  • Fiber coupling options
  • Ultra-compact All-in-One design*
  • Thermally stabilized optics
  • Monolithic design
  • Hermetically sealed
  • Automatic power control
  • +5VDC input voltage (voltage is upconverted internally to make it suitable for various laser diodes)
*The laser head includes optics and driving electronics within a single enclosure.

Control Interface

MatchBox® series lasers feature a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) controller interface. The pinout is explained below - separately for diode and DPSS lasers.
A 'Break-out-Box' is used for converting UART into USB or RS232 protocols. The converter chip for USB is 'Silicon Labs CP2102' and for the RS232 it is 'MAX232'.

Diode Laser



  • Tx and Rx pins are used for communication, error read-out, and change of parameters
  • GND pin is common to the enclosure
  • Vcc pin is used for +VDC power
  • TTL pin can have two purposes: TTL ON/OFF modulation of the laser (in case of regular diodes) or control of a variable speed fan*** (in case of wavelength-stabilized diodes)

          ***TTL or FAN setting is factory pre-configured.

DPSS or High-Power Diode Laser



  • Tx and Rx pins are used for communication, error read-out, and change of parameters
  • GND pin is common to the enclosure
  • Vcc pin is used for +VDC power
  • Fan ctrl. pin is used for variable speed control of a fan***

       ***Can be configured into virtual        TTL modulation having up to  500 kHz modulation bandwidth.

Break-out-Box Explanation

AM-C8_front.jpg (500×500)

The Break-outBox contains UART to USB converter circuit and conventional connection ports in a plastic housing.

  • Data USB is used for communication with a PC
  • Interlock has two pins (INT and INT-GND). When the pins are shortened with an interlock loop, the laser can be operated
  • TTL modulation pin
  • Power USB is used for the provision of +5V power.
  • FAN and +5V are used to connect a Heatsink. FAN is for Heatsink GND pin and +5V is for Vcc.

Software Interface

Laser control softwareThe MatchBox® laser control software is used for checking preset parameters, such as the max. laser diode current, target temperatures for laser internal diode, laser body, and actual measured values of these parameters, as well as the load percentage of the Peltier elements. This is very helpful for laser diode age tracking and other troubleshooting actions.

The software window is divided into four segments. Each segment represents a different control field of the MatchBox® laser:
Right above the first segment, you can see a port number, an item name,  a serial number, and a hardware version.
The first segment is used for turning on the power of the laser, but the laser isn't emitting light. A warning sign can be seen in the segment too. It indicates whether the laser power is on or off. The next parameter seen in this segment is the operating mode of the laser.
The second section of the software window is used for laser power control. You can enable or disable laser radiation, change units of optical power settings. This column also shows the current of the laser diode - its maximum value and the actual current. In the status bar, if the circle is green, the laser is emitting light, if it is grey, laser radiation is turned off.
The third section is for controlling operation modes of the laser - ACC/APC, Auto-Warm-up, Auto-Start.
The last section is for observing the temperature of the laser body and the laser internal diode, cooler status, fan load, and laser voltage.

Click the button below to download the software:


Heatsinks

Compact Fan Cooler For MatchBox®

A low-profile forced-air cooler has an integrated centrifugal fan. Very efficient for dissipation of a large amount of excess heat.

Large air-cooled heatsink

A compact TEC-cooled mounting adapter plate is a great cooling unit for good thermal and mechanical stability requiring lasers and setups.

Large air-cooled heatsink

A cost-efficient high-capacity forced air-cooler. It is used mainly for direct diode and low-power DPSS lasers.

Air Cooled Heatsink With TEC

A very efficient, TEC and fan-based, cooler. It is used mainly with high-power DPSS and high parameter stability requiring lasers.

Power Supplies

18W USB type C PD power supply

A low-cost power supply for diode lasers.

60W USB power supply, PD

A power supply for high-power continuous-wave, Q-switch, and DPSS lasers.

Advantages

  • Easy to integrate (smallest enclosure on the market)
  • Convenient to arrange in the proximity of a working area (use of fiber pigtails is often not necessary)
  • Standard Package (MatchBox®)
  • User-friendly software with multiple parameter monitoring
  • Low power consumption in standby-mode (important for battery-powered applications)
  • Excellent beam pointing angle and beam position accuracy
  • High cooling capacity
  • Rugged enclosure
  • Operational hours counter
  • On/Off cycle counter
  • Smart over-heat protection
  • Power delivery (PD) based power supplies
  • Variety of accessories
  • Space-saving pinhead connector

What's in the Box?

  • Laser Source (integrated power electronics in the same enclosure)
  • One thermal film. If a laser is sent mounted on a heatsink with a thermal film, an additional 1 g of thermal grease is included.
  • 2 screws of M2.5x20 mm for fixing the laser to a mounting plate. Tightening torque 0.25 - 0.35 N·m
  • Hex key: 1.5 mm; BN:1169; DIN:911