Design and evaluation of a versatile picosecond light pulser

TL;DR

This paper introduces a versatile picosecond light pulser capable of producing ultra-short light pulses with sub-nanosecond precision, suitable for calibrating photosensors across various wavelengths.

Contribution

It presents a novel, adjustable light pulser design based on avalanche transistors that works with multiple LED types and VCSELs, achieving ~100 ps pulse duration.

Findings

Pulse duration as short as ~100 ps

Compatible with various LEDs and VCSELs

Provides brightness control

Abstract

Many experimental setups, such as for the calibration of photosensors, require light sources with sub-nanosecond timing precision. We present the design and evaluation of a brightness controlled, picosecond light pulser based on an avalanche transistor pulse driving circuit. It can be used with a large variety of LEDs and VCSELs, enabling usage over a wide wavelength range, with light curves as short as ~100 ps standard deviation.