New Generation of ZVS Flyback Converter Chipsets
Coherent (NYSE: COHR), one of the industry's leading providers of semiconductor lasers for deep sensor applications, today announced the launch of a new lighting module platform specifically designed for near- to mid-range Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scenarios in automotive safety and industrial robotic vision.
More and more vehicles are adopting driver assistance systems (ADAS). At the same time, depth sensing technology in industrial robots is becoming more prevalent. These trends are accelerating market demand for new LiDAR systems - users want new systems that are more compact and flexible, and that can perform efficiently and reliably even in extreme environments. Utilising eight 940 nm Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) modules, Coherent High Intent has successfully demonstrated the new solution, where the field of illumination (FOI) can be divided into multiple selectively addressable horizontal layers. In addition to its compact specification and excellent power conversion efficiency, the new module is far more cost effective than large addressable VCSEL arrays, and Coherent is now offering demonstration products that allow customers to explore different VCSEL module tuning configurations and scanning algorithms for a variety of depth sensing morphologies and scene types.
One of the strong advantages of the new module platform is the ability to tailor optimised solutions for use cases, even covering 30m depth sensing in strong daylight," said Dr David Ahmari, vice president and general manager of Coherent's Optoelectronics Devices and Modules business. The total power conversion efficiency of our illuminators has exceeded 30 per cent, and they are compact in size, about one-third the size of a credit card. To achieve these efficiency and size breakthroughs, we have utilised our own five-junction VCSEL technology, enabling each illuminator module to achieve 200 W output power. We have now developed a demo product that will allow customers to evaluate and better envision the growing number of application scenarios supported by the new technology."
Coherent's customers will be able to adjust the duration of the drive pulses to enable both near- and mid-range LiDAR sensing, with FOI layering dynamically selected based on the number of VCSEL modules and the order in which they are scanned. The new product requires only 21 V input voltage, which is much lower than today's LiDAR technology and therefore more efficient.
Coherent offers a wide range of active and passive products for LiDAR designs. The active device family covers VCSELs, edge emitters, laser bars, FMCW sources, and pulsed fibre optic sources. The passive family covers laser optics, polygon scan mirrors, mirrors, lenses, ultra-narrow band filters, wide angle of incidence mirrors, gratings, and thermoelectric devices.