US 11,888,288 B2
Laser diode driver break-down protection scheme
Chang Joon Park, Sunnyvale, CA (US); Martin Francis Galinski, Santa Clara, CA (US); Niranjan Achugundla Puttaswamy, San Jose, CA (US); Brandon Baxter Harris, San Jose, CA (US); Patrick Codd, Mountain Park, CA (US); and Barry Thompson, Menlo Park, CA (US)
Assigned to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
Filed by MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
Filed on Nov. 23, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/102,372.
Prior Publication US 2022/0166188 A1, May 26, 2022
Int. Cl. H01S 5/042 (2006.01); H02H 9/04 (2006.01); H03M 1/66 (2006.01)
CPC H01S 5/042 (2013.01) [H02H 9/045 (2013.01); H03M 1/66 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system adapted to mitigate breakdown of silicon of a laser diode driver by varying a bleed current through the laser diode, the system comprising:
a digital-to-analog converter having a power terminal, a digital control input and an output terminal, the power terminal coupled to a power source, the output terminal coupled to an anode of the laser diode, the digital-to-analog converter configured to control the bleed current at output terminal based on a digital input value provided at the digital control input, the bleed current being supplied by the power source and provided to the anode of the laser diode; and
an overvoltage detector circuit having a detector input configured to detect a peak voltage applied to the anode of the laser diode, wherein the overvoltage detector circuit determines when a peak voltage exceeds a predetermined voltage, the overvoltage detector circuit having an overvoltage output coupled to the digital control input, the overvoltage detector circuit is configured to adjust the digital input value to cause the digital-to-analog converter to increase or decrease the bleed current through the laser diode in response to determining when the peak voltage exceeds the predetermined voltage.