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DC20 Solis^® LED Driver

Compatible Thorlabs LEDs
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Description	High-Power Solis LEDs

Features

• Designed for Thorlabs' Solis^® LEDs for Microscopy
• Easily Control LED Intensity Using the Dial
• Protects LED from Overdriving by Automatically Setting the Current Limit
• Provides Drive Current up to 10 A
• Supports LED Forward Voltage up to 14 V
• Accepts External TTL Modulation Signal via BNC Connector

Thorlabs' DC20 Driver is designed to provide a simple way to control any of Thorlabs' Solis LEDs. Easy to set up and use, this driver is an ideal solution for users of our Solis LEDs who don't require the more advanced functions provided by the DC2200 Touchscreen LED Driver. See the Solis LED Drivers tab for a comparison between the DC20 and the DC2200 drivers.

The current provided to the LED is controlled by turning the knob on the top of the driver. The position on the top panel marked LIMIT will correspond to the maximum LED current for the connected Solis LED, as the driver automatically detects and sets the current limit to the value stored in each Solis LED's internal memory to protect it from being overdriven. Pushing on the knob will either switch the LED on at the percentage of the maximum current indicated by the control knob position or turn it off. Alternatively, the LED can be modulated using an external TTL signal connected to a BNC input on the back of the driver's housing. See the Specs tab for the TTL signal requirements.

A tri-color LED on the side of the unit indicates the current LED status, including whether the LED is on or off (useful with IR LEDs), whether the LED is operating normally, or if an error has occurred.

Please note that the DC20 driver is designed specifically to work with the internal electronics in Thorlabs' Solis LEDs and should not be used to drive any other type of LED.

Thorlabs also offers other LEDs drivers that are compatible with our mounted, collimated, fiber-coupled, and PCB-mounted LEDs. See the table below for available LED driver options.

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Connectors and Control Knob on the DC20

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Status Indicator LED

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DC20 Top View

DC20 Connector Pin Diagrams

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The following items are included in the DC20 package:

• DC20 LED Current Controller
• Power Supply
• Location-Specific Power Cord

Thorlabs offers two options for driving our Solis^® LEDs. The DC20 is a basic option that allows users to control the intensity of their LED using a control knob on the top or via an external TTL signal for modulation. For more advanced applications, our DC2200 drivers provides a touchscreen interface that allows users to control the LED current, select internal or external modulation modes, and more. The table below provides a comparison of key controller features.

Solis® LED Driver Selection Guide
Item #	DC20	DC2200
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LED Current / Forward Voltage (Max)	1 to 10 A / 5.0 to 14.0 Va	1.0 A / 50.0 Vb 2.0 A / 35.0 Vb 4.0 A / 15.0 Vb 5.0 A / 10.0 Vb 10.0 A / 5.0 Vb
Noise and Ripple (1 Hz to 10 MHz, RMS, Typical)	<400 µA	<100 µA from 0.0 to 4.0 A <200 µA from 4.0 to 10.0 A
Internal Modulation Modes	-	0.1 Hz to 20 kHz (PWMc Mode) 1 µs to 10 s On or Off Time (Pulse Mode) 20 Hz to 100 kHz (Internal Modulation Mode with Sine, Square, Triangle Waveforms)
External Modulation (Arbitrary Waveform)	-	DC - 250 kHz [Small Signal Bandwidth (Sine)]d
TTL Modulation (External)	DC to 1 kHz (Square Wave, PWMc)	DC to ≥18 kHze
LED Control Interface	Knob to Control LED Current, BNC Port for TTL Modulation	Easy-to-Navigate Touchscreen Interface, Brightness and Constant Current Operating Modes, Internal and External Modulation Modes, SMA Port for External Modulation Accepts TTL Signal or Waveform from a Function Generator, USB Interface for Remote Control
Current Limit	Automatically Read and Set from the Solis LED's Internal Memory to Protect the LED from Overdriving
External Software Interface	No	DC2200 GUI
Other Compatible LEDs	-	Mounted Collimated Fiber Coupled MCPCB Mountedf

• The maximum LED current and forward voltage are dependent on each other: the DC20 cannot drive an LED with a 14 V forward voltage at 10 A. The DC20 is compatible with all Solis LEDs and will automatically select the appropriate current/voltage combination for the connected Solis LED.
• For Solis LEDs connected using Terminal 1. The DC2200 can also be used to drive Thorlabs' mounted, collimated and fiber-coupled LEDs, which use a separate terminal and are subject to different current and voltage limitations. See the complete web presentation for details.
• PWM = Pulse Width Modulation
• Small Signal Bandwidth: Modulation not exceeding 20% of full scale current. The driver accepts other waveforms, but the maximum frequency will be reduced.
• Given for an output current at "High" TTL level not exceeding 10% of the selected current range limit.
• Requires the CAB-LEDD1 cable.