A method for generating high peak power pulses in lamp pumped continuous lasers by current mixing is disclosed, in which three kinds of oscillations, i.e., pure continuous wave laser oscillation, pure pulse laser oscillation and mixed laser oscillation of continuous wave and pulse lasers are attained without replacing any internal components of the laser. The current mixing is implemented by combining a high peak pulse current from pulse mode power supply and a DC current from the continuous wave laser power supply directly with isolating diodes, whereby a high peak power pulse equivalent to several scores of times the output of a continuous wave laser is simultaneously obtained.
A constant current laser driver circuit that will drive a laser diode in a constant current mode from a 6 to 12 volt battery supply. The laser driver consists of two main sections. The first section converts the 12 volt input to a 2 volt output using ultra-low resistance power mosfets and an inductor. The current sensing amplifier senses the current flowing through the laser and sends a feedback signal to the switching section, which causes it to adjust the output voltage to keep the laser driving current constant.
