• Silanna Semiconductor’s FirePower laser driver ICs, introduced in 2025, for LiDAR and rangefinder applications are now available in production quantities. • The SL2001 and SL2002 laser firing system ICs, housed in a 14-pin 3.5-mm 2 package, integrate charging and firing on a single chip, reducing power losses by 70% and footprint by 80%. • Developed to reduce power consumption, system size, design complexity, and bill-of-material costs compared to other laser driver technologies, Silanna claims the SL2001 and SL2002 are the first laser firing system ICs to combine resonant capacitor charging and high-current laser diode firing on a single device, which eliminates multiple external discrete components and inefficient conversion phases. • Both the Firepower SL2001 and SL2002 devices offer a Vin to resonant capacitor charging efficiency of up to 85% and can be used with both edge-emitting lasers (EELs) and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). • One example cited is using the SL2001 with a 400-W quad EEL module, which can reduce a laser system’s footprint by 80% (from 400 mm 2 to 80 mm 2 ). • The SL2001 targets automotive-grade LiDAR and delivers sub-2 ns FWHM laser pulses and a peak power output of 1,000 W when running from a 3-V to 24-V supply.

Article Summaries:

  • Silanna Semiconductor’s FirePower laser driver ICs, introduced in 2025, for LiDAR and rangefinder applications are now available in production quantities. The SL2001 and SL2002 laser firing system ICs, housed in a 14-pin 3.5-mm 2 package, integrate charging and firing on a single chip, reducing power losses by 70% and footprint by 80%. Developed to reduce power consumption, system size, design complexity, and bill-of-material costs compared to other laser driver technologies, Silanna claims the SL2001 and SL2002 are the first laser firing system ICs to combine resonant capacitor charging and h

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