US-based SLD Laser are showing headlamps based on the company’s high-performance laser diodes. Co-founder Paul Rudy says the technology enables high-output headlamps that are “highly efficient, cost-effective, and compact”.
“We are working with automotive-certified, 1mm bi-axial MEMS mirrors, which can be used to shape the laser light in patterns with very high luminance per pixel”, Rudy says. “We’re currently in the range of 0.5 to 1° resolution, with the expectation of being able to get to 0.1° resolution in the future”.
The solution can fit into a 5-cm cube capable of providing full headlighting functionality in any pattern of light, including full ADB functionality and the ability to perform communication and sensing functions. The laser light can be coupled into fibres to transport or emit the light. The latter option, known as emissive fibre, could be used for æsthetic lighting on the interior and exterior of vehicles, and to transmit data via LiFi in front, side, and rear lights, so data could effectively be sent via LiFi in all directions from equipped vehicles.
SLD Laser’s clever light sources also can produce infrared light from the same chip, so during the day when a vehicle’s exterior lighting isn’t being used, data can still be transmitted in the infrared. Rudy says “Currently, this infrared light is 850-905 nm wavelength. However, we expect to be able to deliver this at 1,300-1,600 nm in the future. This dual functionality from the same chip could not be achieved using LEDs. They are 1,000 times slower than lasers, they don’t provide the required visibility or range, they require big optics, and are not dual wavelength.”