Osram and its subsidiary Vixar both launched new sensing products covering infrared laser and VCSEL.

(Image: Osram)

Osram adds a 65 Watt laser, SPL DP90_3 to its LiDAR photonics portfolio for high resolution, near-field detection for bringing autonomous driving one step closer. Long-range LiDAR is used to detect objects up to approximately 250 meters away. The immediate surroundings of the car must also be reliably captured by short- or mid-range LiDAR, which covers a distance up to approximately 90 meters from the vehicle. Short- or mid-range LiDAR covers classic traffic situations such as passing cars on highways or driving in urban traffic.

(Image: Osram)

With SPL DP90_3, Osram is presenting a new single-channel pulsed laser that features improved beam quality and particularly compact dimensions. The new product sizes 0.3 mm x 0.6 mm for system manufacturers to create extremely compact designs. An efficiency of around 30 percent helps reduce the overall cost of the system during operation

Meanwhile, Vixar, which joined Osram in 2018, introduced its new multi-junction VCSEL for 3D sensing applications. The technology can be applied to products in the company’s portfolio and boasts slope efficiencies of 2 W/A in dual junction and 3 W/A in triple junction. It offers 60% power conversion efficiency—significantly higher than the comparable single-junction’s performance of 53% peak wall plug efficiency.

(Image: Vixar/Osram)

Its greater efficiency reduces the overall thermal load. Higher power density leads to a dramatically reduced chip and package size, enabling simpler optic designs and system architecture. Compared to a single-junction VCSEL, the project can reach the same optical power with lower pulsing forward current.

The VCSEL technology will be demonstrated by Vixar at Photonics West, which is taking place from February 4-6 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.