Low-Noise Laser Controller
The SideKick™ Laser Controller represents a significant step forward in the design, features, and performance of quantum cascade laser controllers. Its low-noise design means no cooling fans, and when paired with a suitable DRS Daylight Solutions laser head, its drive electronics enable industry-leading CW RIN (low optical noise).
Built on the proven performance of our TLC/FLC controllers, the SideKick controller supports a wide range of our laser systems and wavelengths. It is compatible with all 31000- and 41000-series product families, including the Hedgehog™, CW-MHF™, Aries-100™, and Unicorn-II™ laser heads as well as older Pulsed, CW/pulsed, and Über Tuner™ heads.
The SideKick controller provides flexible, precise control of laser power, wavelength, temperature, scan speed, and pulse parameters—all while protecting your laser chip with our proven HFQD™ circuitry.
The SideKick controller includes a GUI and SDK plus USB/Ethernet connectivity, providing you with elegant local/remote control and diagnostics, and multiple tuning and triggering modes.
Mid-IR Pulsed Laser Detector: Room-Temperature Operation
The Amplified MCT Detector is a natural fit with DRS Daylight’s pulsed mid-IR lasers and gives you 245° K performance and sub-3 ns rise time without external cooling. It packs a fully integrated receiver with embedded IR detector, low-noise amplifier, and temperature controller into one compact package.
Tune 100s of cm-1 at 1000 cm-1/s.
Cute name. Fearsome performance. Ideal for laboratory or OEM use, the Hedgehog Mid-IR Laser is DRS Daylight’s next-generation tunable laser head. Built on our proven External Cavity Quantum Cascade Laser™ technology, the Hedgehog laser is a unique combination of small size, tuning speeds to > 5000 cm-1/s, CW or pulsed output, high power, TEM00 beam quality, and unmatched spectral repeatability.
Molecular spectroscopy applications benefit from rapid, high-SNR data acquisition. Probing multiple molecules, or probing an absorption feature with high dynamic range, also benefits from broad mid-IR tuning. The Hedgehog system provides these benefits, with its wide, rapid tuning across the mid-IR spectrum, low-noise output, and high spectral and spatial beam quality. Its sealed, alignment-free design and GUI and SDK included as standard let you access this performance with ease.
Select from three standard Hedgehog models: Hedgehog (tunes up to 200 cm-1), Hedgehog-UT (tunes up to 400 cm-1), and Hedgehog-LT (tunes up to 30 cm-1).
Peak velocities up to 30,000 cm-1/s
The MIRcat™ adds high-speed tuning, higher spectral repeatability, improved thermal management, and longer-wavelength options to the first generation of the MIRcat laser, a field-proven multi-quantum cascade laser system. The MIRcat is truly a one-box, fully automated system with a flexible, modular design that allows factory configuration of up to four pulsed or continuous wave/pulsed modules, plus the option to add or upgrade modules later. The MIRcat offers a tuning range approaching 1000 cm-1 (> 6 µm) and wavelength coverage to > 13 µm. It also delivers unmatched, industry-leading performance in critical areas like peak tuning speeds of > 30,000 cm-1/s, output power up to 1 W, and TEM00 beam quality to enable high-efficiency fiber coupling. A new, higher-precision tuning mechanism and lower-noise drive electronics provide wavelength repeatability as high as < 0.1 cm-1 and CW RIN as low as -140 dBc/Hz.
