| CPC H01S 5/0428 (2013.01) [H01S 5/4025 (2013.01); H03K 17/6871 (2013.01); G01S 7/484 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |

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1. A laser diode drive circuit comprising:
at least one laser diode;
a driving switching element connected in series to an anode side of the at least one laser diode and configured to switch between an ON state in which a current is supplied to the at least one laser diode and an OFF state in which the current is not supplied to the at least one laser diode;
a driving capacitor having a first end connected to the driving switching element and configured to supply a current to the at least one laser diode;
a drive circuit configured to drive the driving switching element; and
a boot strap circuit configured to supply a voltage to the drive circuit for driving the driving switching element, with the boot strap circuit including:
a capacitor connected to the drive circuit having a first end connected to a source electrode of the driving switching element and a second end connected to a gate electrode of the driving switching element, and
a current suppression element connected to the first end of the capacitor and configured to suppress a flow of a current that flows to the capacitor and to the at least one laser diode connected in parallel during a charging of the capacitor.
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