Hi,
Wondering if anyone out there has experience with this…
WRT to the Laser Module - Green (COM-09906):
Can this laser be switched on and off at frequencies in the 10s of kHz
frequency range?
The application is to transmit small data packets similar to the way it’s
done with 38 kHz IR remote controls.
The technical nature can be boiled down to: If we power the laser module
with a (for example) 40 kHz square wave, will the emitted light output also
be switching at 40 kHz? Of course it won’t be a perfect square wave, but
even a triangle wave or something more sinusoidal at the output will be ok
as long as it’s going to zero or close every period.
Also - if the laser module can support this mode of operation, do you know
if that’s likely to impact it’s service life?
Thanks very much in advance!
Hi Matt_Maker,
I am not certain that this [laser module would work well switching at those speeds. This module is essentially just the internals of a powerful laser pointer so I would imagine that trying to turn it on and off at kHz speeds would possibly result in some weird PWM-type behavior where the intensity decreases or some other strange behavior. The [datasheet we have for this module is pretty bare-bones and does not have any data regarding power on/off timing or switching speeds. We have only tested this laser for power consumption and used it in some simple pointer projects like [this. It may work at slower speeds and you could try ramping it up. If you end up trying that, I would recommend keeping it at the lower end of the input voltage range and adjusting the trim-pot to a low setting just so you do not burn it out too quickly.
Long story short, it might work, but we have not tested it in this type of application and, most likely, you are not going to be able to get the performance you are looking for in terms of switching this on and off at 10’s of kHz. Other users here who have more experience with lasers might have some other helpful information for this question, though.
I hope this helps you decide if this laser can work for your project. Let us know if you have any other questions about this and we would be happy to help as much as we can.](https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/gps-differential-vector-pointer)](https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/Components/5mw%20532nm%20Laser%20Module.pdf)](https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9906)
Thanks very much for your help, TS-Mark.