Method and apparatus for active voltage regulation in optical modules

摘要

A method and apparatus for active voltage regulation in optical modules utilize a voltage regulator to change the supply voltage provided to laser diode driver and receiver electronics to optimize module performance over temperature. The ambient temperature of the module is monitored. The outputs of the voltage regulator are controlled to provide voltages that are optimized with respect to temperature for the integrated circuits in the optical module. This control is implemented via a temperature sensitive feedback or a control input from a microcontroller with a temperature monitor input. The supply voltage is optimized to minimize the voltage required to achieve acceptable performance at a given temperature. Minimizing the supply voltage lengthens the lifetime of the integrated circuit and the optical module. The voltage regulator provides higher than standard supply voltages to a laser diode driver to compensate for higher laser voltage at low temperatures.

主权项

1. An optical module apparatus, comprising:
one or more semiconductor light sources to emit light; a laser diode driver coupled to the one or more semiconductor light sources to drive the one or more semiconductor light sources; a temperature monitor configured to generate an output indicative of a temperature of the optical module apparatus; a voltage regulator configured to generate output voltages and coupled to the laser diode driver to provide a supply voltage to the laser diode driver to drive the one or more semiconductor light sources, wherein the supply voltage to the laser diode driver is included in the output voltages; voltage regulator control electronics configured to adjust the output voltages of the voltage regulator based at least in part on the output of the temperature monitor; and a microcontroller including an input to receive the output of the temperature monitor and configured to provide a control input to the voltage regulator control electronics based at least in part on the received output of the temperature monitor.