Silanna FirePower ICs Combine Boost Charging and Laser Firing on a Single Chip

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Silanna FirePower ICs Combine Boost Charging and Laser Firing on a Single Chip

Silanna Semiconductor has launched production of its innovative FirePower family - the SL2001 and SL2002 laser-firing system ICs. These devices are designed for LiDAR, time-of-flight (ToF), and rangefinding applications in automotive, industrial, and portable systems.

According to the company, the SL2001 and SL2002 are the smallest and most efficient laser-firing ICs available, integrating resonant capacitor charging and high-current laser diode driving into one compact chip. This eliminates the need for multiple discrete components and separate power stages, reducing board space, design complexity, power losses, and overall system cost.

Silanna FirePower SL2001 and SL2002 laser-firing ICs — FirePower SL2001 and SL2002 - integration of charging and firing functions (Image: Silanna Semiconductor)

SL2001: High-Power Solution for Automotive and Industrial LiDAR

The SL2001 targets automotive-grade LiDAR and high-power ToF systems. Key features include:

Supply voltage range: 3 V to 24 V
Peak output power: up to 1,000 W
Sub-2-ns FWHM laser pulses
Laser diode voltage >80 V from low input
Repetition rates up to 10 MHz (thermal-limited)
Time-error jitter below 0.1 ns
Dual-fire outputs for parallel laser diodes
I²C interface for power control and monitoring

This integration can shrink system footprint dramatically - for example, reducing area from ~400 mm² to 80 mm² when paired with a 400-W quad EEL module.

SL2001 application circuit diagram — Application circuit for the SL2001 high-power laser driver (Image: Silanna Semiconductor)

SL2002: Compact, Low-Voltage Driver for Portable Devices

The SL2002 is optimized for battery-powered, handheld LiDAR and rangefinders operating from 2.8 V to 5.5 V supplies. It delivers:

Peak laser power: 100 W
Sub-3-ns pulses
Repetition rate up to 1 MHz (thermal-limited)
Ultra-low no-load consumption: <5 mW
Integrated boost charger and charge pump for gate drive
I²C-adjustable output power

Both ICs support edge-emitting lasers (EELs) and VCSEL arrays, come in tiny wafer-level chip-scale packages, and include evaluation kits for fast prototyping.

SL2002 functional block diagram — Functional block diagram of the compact SL2002 IC (Image: Silanna Semiconductor)

By combining charging, firing, and control in one chip, Silanna’s FirePower series significantly improves efficiency and simplifies next-generation laser-based measurement systems across industries.