A driver circuit 11 includes a plurality of cascode-connected NMOS transistors, a modulating signal V.sub.GN1 is applied to a gate terminal of a lowermost stage transistor T.sub.N1 located at a lowermost stage out of the NMOS transistors, and an upper stage bias potential V.sub.GN2 that is a sum of a minimum gate-source voltage V.sub.GN1min and a maximum drain-source voltage V.sub.DS1max of a transistor (T.sub.N1) located immediately below an upper stage transistor located at an upper stage above the lowermost stage transistor of the NMOS transistors is applied to the upper stage transistor T.sub.N2.

This invention provides an accurate current mirror circuit in a low voltage headroom applied to common-anode laser drivers, including a reference current detection unit, a tail current source unit, and a control unit. The reference current detection unit generates a bias voltage and a reference voltage according to a reference current from the reference current source; the tail current source unit receives the bias voltage and generate a mirror current accordingly; the control unit receives the reference voltage and an output voltage corresponding to the mirror current and carry out a feedback regulation to the bias voltage accordingly. In this invention, the reference voltage and the output voltage are locked at same level, and then the bias voltage is mirrored to generate the mirror current outputted to the laser, thus avoiding the problem of inaccurate current output caused by the offset of the control unit in the low voltage headroom.

A swept light source of the present invention keeps a coherence length of an output beam long over an entire sweep wavelength range. A gain of a gain medium is changed with time in response to a wavelength sweep and the coherence length is kept maximum. The gain of the gain medium is kept close to a lasing threshold and an unsaturated gain range of the gain medium is narrowed over the entire sweep wavelength range. An SOA current waveform data acquiring method of driving while keeping the coherence length long, a novel coherence length measuring method, and an optical deflector suitable for the swept light source are also disclosed.

An LD driver circuit includes an adjustment circuit to which a power supply voltage is applied. The adjustment circuit receives an input signal through an input terminal, generates a shifted input signal shifted in voltage from the input signal by a predetermined shift amount, and outputs the shifted input signal from an output terminal. The LD driver circuit also includes a transistor with its base receiving the shifted input signal, its collector electrically connected to an anode of a driven LD, and its emitter electrically connected to a cathode of the LD and ground, which transistor varies an amount of a shunt current flowing from the collector to the emitter in accordance with the shifted input signal. The adjustment circuit includes a comparator which compares a voltage in the collector and a threshold voltage, and increases or decreases the predetermined shift amount in accordance with an output of the comparator.

The first transmission line has a width perpendicular to a transmission direction. The first electrode has a width not exceeding the width. The first electrode is opposed to the first transmission line. The ground layer has a positional relationship with each portion of the first transmission line. The ground layer is next to the first transmission line on at least one side consisting of a first side along a thickness direction of the mounting substrate, and a second side and a third side with the first transmission line interposed therebetween. The first transmission line is bonded to the first electrode and has the width equivalently, at least, at a portion of the first transmission line. The portion equivalently has the positional relationship with the ground layer. The portion is next to the ground layer in an equivalent shape along the transmission direction.

An optical semiconductor device includes an optical semiconductor chip in which at least one optical element is formed in a semiconductor substrate, and an extended wire pattern that is connected to a first electrode and a second electrode of the optical element and that extends outside the optical semiconductor chip. The first electrode and the second electrode of the optical semiconductor device are formed on the front surface side of the optical semiconductor chip, and the extended wire pattern is disposed on the front surface of the optical semiconductor chip or disposed at a position apart from the front surface.

A laser diode control circuit includes: a LD driver circuit for driving a laser diode; a direct current component remover circuit for generating a feedback signal based on a detected signal; a first conversion and filter circuit for generating a first filtered signal based on the feedback signal; a first rectifier for rectifying the first filtered signal to generate a first rectified signal; a reference signal generator for generating a reference signal; a second conversion and filter circuit for generating a second filtered signal based on the reference signal; a second rectifier for rectifying the second filtered signal to generate a second rectified signal; a rectified signals processing circuit for generating a processed signal based on the first and second rectified signals; and a comparator for generating a comparison signal based on the processed signal.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a method and apparatus for measuring at least one parameter that is (i) descriptive of stochastic motion of suspended particles within a fluid; and/or (ii) is a rheological property of the fluid or of the suspension; (iii) describes a concentration of suspended particles within the fluid; and/or (iv) is a diffusion coefficient of the suspended particles and/or (iv) is a viscosity of the fluid or of the suspension; and/or (v) is a food aging or spoilage parameter and/or (vii) is an in-vivo or in-vitro blood coagulation parameter.

A semiconductor laser includes a first mirror layer, a second mirror layer, an active layer disposed between the first mirror layer and the second mirror layer, a semiconductor layer disposed in the second mirror layer, an insulation region configured to insulate the second mirror layer and the semiconductor layer from each other, a first electrode connected to the first mirror layer, a second electrode connected to the second mirror layer, and a third electrode connected to the semiconductor layer.

An atomic oscillator includes a semiconductor laser, an atomic cell, a light receiving element, a first temperature control element, a heat transfer member, and a second temperature control element. The semiconductor laser includes a resonator and an insulation layer disposed around the resonator. The resonator includes a first mirror layer, a second mirror layer, and an active layer disposed between the first mirror layer and the second mirror layer. The atomic cell is irradiated with light emitted from the semiconductor laser. In the atomic cell, an alkali metal atom is accommodated. The light receiving element detects intensity of light transmitted through the atomic cell and outputs a detection signal. The first temperature control element controls a temperature of the semiconductor laser. The heat transfer member is disposed in the insulation layer. The second temperature control element is controlled based on the detection signal and is connected to the heat transfer member.