Nichia Corporation, headquartered in Tokushima and directed by President Eiji Ogawa, announced today its decision to commercialize blue and green semiconductor laser diode models specifically designed for automotive Head-Up Display (HUD) systems*1 .

Semiconductor LDs are excellent light sources that offer high luminance and excellent color reproducibility. By replacing LEDs, which are currently the most common light sources for automotive HUD systems, with semiconductor LDs, the following benefits can be expected.

• Larger head-up display field of view,
• Lower energy consumption,
• Higher contrast,
• Extended range of reproducible colors

Nichia has achieved improved reliability and quality for the new LD models. Aφ5.6mm Can package (i.e. metal package) was chosen for its high performance for semiconductor LD packages and the LD die has an improved conversion efficiency from electric power to light.

Nichia plans to start shipping test samples from October, 2014 and mass production from October, 2015.

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*1Note: An automotive HUD system is a display that presents basic information (e.g. the current speed, navigation information, etc.) for the driver on the windshield, and/or a transparent display placed in front of the driver, that assists the driver to drive safely by reducing eye movements while driving.