During CES 2021, Kyocera SLD Laser, Inc. (KSLD) announced the production launch of the world’s first dual-emission white light and infrared (IR) LaserLight source for automotive and consumer lighting, night vision illumination, precision long-range sensing beyond 250 m (820 ft), and high-speed light fidelity (LiFi) communications faster than 20 Gbps. Acquired by Kyocera Corp. and now operating as a Kyocera group company, the California company formerly known as SLD Laser and co-founded by James Raring, President and CEO, and Paul Rudy, SVP BD and CMO, is focused on the commercialization of gallium nitride (GaN) based laser light sources.
The company says that white/IR dual emission sources are critical for automotive lighting, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and autonomous vehicle LiDAR 3D sensing, as well as mobility applications including avionics, drones, railway, and marine. Additionally, dual emission sources are required for consumer and professional portable lighting products, night vision illuminators, and rangefinders for recreation and outdoor, search and rescue, and security applications.
The new source delivers high brightness white light with 1-km (0.6-mi) beam distance, while independently producing IR illumination from the same emission spot to achieve ranging to more than 250 m with 1% accuracy. Moreover, these sources generate LiDAR video imagery and data when integrated with sensor chips to enable next-generation 3D imaging headlights.
KSLD says its new LaserLight dual white/IR sources deliver high brightness, safe, incoherent white light of 500 lumens with near-infrared emission up to 1 W average power and 100 W peak power that can emit either together simultaneously or independently, depending on the needs of the application. The white/IR LaserLight source technology is available in several high-volume product configurations including a MicroSpot module, FiberLight module, and SMD (surface mount device) component.
Until now, high-speed, dual-emission white/IR sources have not been possible because LEDs and legacy lamp-based light sources are unable to deliver high-brightness, dual-wavelength emission from the same point source, and they are incapable of being modulated at the high speeds required for accurate sensing and fast data rates.
Using the white/IR dual-emission LaserLight sources, KSLD now offers a commercial LiFi development kit with a 1-Gbps data rate for customers to design LiFi into emerging optical communication applications for a myriad of mobility use cases, as well as future smart cities, such as intelligent streetlights, and smart buildings, such as healthcare facilities and factories.
By delivering both white and IR from the same source and fusing together lighting, sensing, and communication functionalities, KSLD’s LaserLight LiFi kit enables its customers to commercialize potent intelligent illumination systems. These systems provide a combination of precision white lighting, accurate sensing, and ultra-high-speed communication with unconstrained optical bandwidth, as well as secure and efficient data transmission without RF interference of the incumbent WiFi technology.
KSLD’s high-brightness white light LaserLight products were showcased at its virtual CES 2021 exhibit. The company says its automotive certified LaserLight Fiber sources are now deployed into multiple vehicle platform headlights and are on the road globally. KSLD has been named a Grade A supplier for excellent quality by a leading global Tier 1 supplier. KSLD’s white light sources were also used by the winning drivers at the 2020 SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race.
Gary Mason contributed this article to Futurride. He’s a storyteller and communications professional with more than 10 years of experience in the automotive industry. During his career, Gary has represented such companies as Honda, ZF, Federal-Mogul, MTU, and General Motors, as well as several automotive steel producers. A content creator, Gary is always looking for great stories to tell. Contact Gary at gmasonPR@gmail.com.
