An optoelectronic transmitter is provided including a semiconductor laser as the active optical transmitting element. The transmitter includes first and second printed circuit boards, with the first printed circuit board having mounted thereon electronic components and circuitry for driving the optoelectronic transmitter. A transmitting optical sub-assembly (TOSA) is mounted to the second printed circuit board. The second printed circuit board has an array of solder pads disposed on the back surface thereof, and the first printed circuit board has a corresponding array of solder pads disposed along an outer edge of the board. Spacing of the solder pads is such that when the first printed circuit board is placed in perpendicular abutment against the outer edge of the first printed circuit board, the solder pads formed on the first printed circuit board are aligned adjacent to the solder pads disposed on the back of the second printed circuit board. Solder joints are then formed in the angular space between the solder pads disposed on the first and second printed circuit boards, bonding the boards together while simultaneously providing electrical connections between the various components mounted on the individual printed circuit boards. An improved control circuit for driving the semiconductor laser transmitter facilitates this arrangement. The improved control circuit provides both automatic power control and laser slope compensation in order to normalize the output characteristics of individual transceivers. An alternate embodiment further includes a laser fault latching circuit for disabling the laser transmitter, and providing laser fault indication.