KYOCERA SLD Laser Introduces High Power Blue Laser Diode Product Line

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KYOCERA SLD Laser, Inc. (KSLD), a world leader in commercialization of laser light sources, is introducing its new high power 5 watt blue laser diode products for industrial, biomedical, defense and display applications at the SPIE Photonics West Exhibition, January 31 – February 2, 2023 in San Francisco, California. The company will showcase this new product line along with its new high brightness White/IR LaserLightTM SMD products, winner of the 2021 Prism Award. Additionally, KSLD will demonstrate its DataLightTM high speed LiFi communication system, a 2023 Prism Award finalist, as well as its new innovations in high efficiency laser diodes for AR/VR applications and efficient optical power transfer technology.

KSLD’s new high power blue laser diode products deliver 5 watts of optical power at 445 nm and are based on KSLD’s proprietary high gain semipolar GaN architecture. The product is available in a TO-can package or chip-on-submount, as well as a fiber delivered configuration. The devices are ideally suited for integration into customer end systems in industrial marking, engraving for non-metals and organics such as resins, plastics, and printed circuit boards as well as in 3D printing and welding of metals such as copper for EV battery production where absorption is more than 10 times higher than for infrared lasers. High power blue lasers also have broad range of use in biomedical applications including dental, surgical, and dermatology where absorptions in hemoglobin and melanin are more than 5 times that of infrared lasers, as well as defense applications including avionics LiDARs and undersea communications. Additionally, high power blue laser diodes are used in projection displays to excite RGB phosphors to replace lamps in portable projectors, home theater, boardroom and education projectors, as well as large venue and cinema. KSLD is also applying its high gain Semipolar GaN innovation to develop high efficiency low power red, green, and blue laser diodes to miniaturize, brighten, and reduce power consumption of RGB laser beam scanning modules for the emerging AR/VR market.

KSLD will also showcase its LaserLightTM SMD devices that deliver high brightness white and infrared (IR) dual illumination for medical, machine vision, inspection, safety lighting, bioinstrumentation and other applications that require high intensity spots or high efficiency fiberoptic delivery of white light. The company will feature expanded IR wavelengths from 850 nm to 1000 nm, and increased white light up to 1000 lumens to deliver high brightness, high visibility, eye-safe illumination. Mobility applications include automotive, avionics, drones, railway, and marine white light and IR night vision, range finding and flash LiDAR. Specialty lighting applications include portable flashlights and light bars, high lumen spotlights for avionics, helicopter search & rescue and security applications, as well as entertainment and outdoor lighting. Until now, dual emission white/IR sources have not been possible because LEDs and legacy lamp-based light sources are unable to deliver high brightness white and IR 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.

To support the future of wireless connectivity, KSLD will display DataLightTM, the world’s first laser LiFi commercial development kit featuring a high-speed 1 Gbps, secure, RF-free, eye-safe bidirectional link. Laser LiFi is being adopted in mobility applications including car-to-x exterior, vehicle interiors, airplane cabins, undersea and space, defense and security, as well as future smart cities, healthcare, and smart factories. KSLD is pioneering LiFi innovations for future products as well and recently demonstrated world record performance of 100 Gbps. This product is a finalist for the 2023 Prism awards in the Laser category. 

Beyond lighting, sensing, and communication, KSLD will demonstrate its innovative optical power transmission over fiber using its high efficiency GaN laser diode and photodiode semiconductor chip technology. This significant advancement in the field of power transfer has the potential to replace heavy and sensitive metal wire harnesses in mobility and harsh-environment applications with a lightweight, noise-free optical solution, increasing the efficiency and extending the range of electric vehicles, airplanes, or satellites, while making them more secure and safe. This power-over-light solution can be configured to include optical data communications to deliver data and power to sensors in a distributed system in a vehicle or even in space, where radiation hardened GaN based semiconductors are ideally suited.