The disclosure provides a light source device and an image display device. The light source device includes a laser light source configured to emit laser light having a wavelength in a range from 635 nm to 645 nm inclusive, a temperature sensor configured to detect temperature around the light source device, and a laser control circuit configured to control the laser light source. The laser control circuit approximates, with use of a quartic expression, change in threshold current of the laser light source relative to temperature, and approximates, with use of a quadratic expression, change in slope efficiency of the laser light source relative to temperature, to obtain threshold current and slope efficiency of the laser light source corresponding to detection temperature of the temperature sensor, and controls the laser light source in accordance with the threshold current and the slope efficiency thus obtained.

A method is described for operating at least two laser devices for generating a display, in which the at least two laser devices generate a sequence of light points. In a first step, a first one of the sequence of light spots is generated during a first period of time by at least one of the at least two laser devices and a voltage drop across the at least one of the at least two laser devices is detected within the first period of time. A target brightness is then determined for a second of the sequence of light points for at least one of the at least two laser devices. Subsequently, a supply current and/or a turn-on time is determined during a second time period for generating the target brightness for the at least one of the at least two laser devices.

A method for physical random number generation includes the steps of: modulating the gain of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser periodically from the lower threshold to the upper threshold and back; maintaining the gain per round trip positive for a longer period than the round trip time of the cavity; maintaining the net gain per round trip negative for a longer period than the round trip time of the cavity, in order to create optical pulses of random amplitude; detecting the optical pulses; converting the optical pulses into electrical analog pulses; and digitising the electrical analog pulses into random numbers.

A laser drive circuit compensates for laser diode dynamics. A compensation value is determined from a sum of weighted basis functions. The basis functions may be a function of current desired optical powers and/or past desired optical powers. The weights may be updated periodically based at least in part on accumulated basis function outputs and measured optical powers.

Apparatus and associated methods relate to an open-loop control circuit (OLCC) configured to determine a lasing element drive current as a function of a commanded optical power signal and a measured temperature signal, where the absolute value of the second derivative of the optical output power with respect to laser drive current exceeds a predetermined threshold. In an illustrative example, the absolute value of the second derivative may exceed the predetermined threshold in a non-linear operating region of the laser element. The non-linear operating region may represent, for example, a characteristic output power vs. drive current curve of the lasing element. The OLCC may provide laser peak power control for arbitrary peak power, within linear and non-linear regions of laser efficiency. In some embodiments, the OLCC may substantially improve control over laser optical output power over a wide dynamic range of, for example, temperature associated with the lasing element.

Embodiments of this application disclose a laser diode drive circuit and a LiDAR. The laser diode drive circuit includes a laser diode and a charging and discharging circuit. A cathode of the laser diode is grounded. The charging and discharging circuit is in a one-to-one correspondence with the laser diode, and includes an energy storage element, a first switch element, and a second switch element. The energy storage element is connected to an anode of the laser diode via the first switch element, and the energy storage element is grounded via the first switch element and the second switch element in sequence.

A laser power controller employs: selection circuitry configured to select one of a data input value, a logical high value or a logical low value such that the selection circuitry selects the data input value during a data transmission period during a defined burst period and selects one of the logical high value and the logical low value during an extension time period during the defined burst period and immediately following the data transmission period; drive circuitry configured to apply, to a laser diode, a current corresponding to the value selected by the selection circuitry during the defined burst period or a zero value otherwise, the current being such that the laser diode is configured to provide an optical output; an optical sensor module configured to provide a sensor module output corresponding to the optical output of the laser diode, and configured to provide an electrical output proportional to the laser diode's optical output corresponding to the logical high value or the logical low value; and a controller configured to receive desired values regarding minimum and maximum optical output power levels of the laser diode and to receive the electrical output from the optical sensor module proportional to the optical output power level corresponding to the logical high and the logical low values; the controller being configured to use the received information to provide control values for the drive circuitry.

In one example, an imaging system (10) for a laser printer includes: an imaging laser (26) in which, within a range of drive currents, a threshold current of the laser varies with temperature and an efficiency of the laser does not vary with temperature; a power sensor (20) to measure an output power of the laser at a drive current within the range of drive currents; and a temperature control device (32) to change the temperature of the laser based on an output power measured by the power sensor.

A data storage device may include one or more disks, an actuator arm assembly comprising one or more magnetic recording heads, at least one laser diode, and one or more processing devices configured to: set the at least one laser diode to a first temperature; apply a first forward bias and supply a first current to the at least one laser diode such that it is in a lasing state; measure, for the at least one laser diode, a first output corresponding to the first temperature and current; set the at least one laser diode to a second temperature; measure, for the at least one laser diode, a second output corresponding to the second temperature and the first current; and determine an output profile for the at least one laser diode, based at least in part on the respective output at the first temperature and the second temperature.

A method for physical random number generation includes the steps of: modulating the gain of a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser periodically from the lower threshold to the upper threshold and back; maintaining the gain per round trip positive for a longer period than the round trip time of the cavity; maintaining the net gain per round trip negative for a longer period than the round trip time of the cavity, in order to create optical pulses of random amplitude; detecting the optical pulses; converting the optical pulses into electrical analog pulses; and digitising the electrical analog pulses into random numbers.