Efficient vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for infrared illumination applications

Jean-Francois Seurin; Guoyang Xu; Baiming Guo; Alexander Miglo; Qing Wang; Prachi Pradhan; James D. Wynn; Viktor Khalfin; Wei-Xiong Zou; Chuni Ghosh; Robert Van Leeuwen

doi:10.1117/12.873933

7 February 2011 Efficient vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for infrared illumination applications

Jean-Francois Seurin, Guoyang Xu, Baiming Guo, Alexander Miglo, Qing Wang, Prachi Pradhan, James D. Wynn, Viktor Khalfin, Wei-Xiong Zou, Chuni Ghosh, Robert Van Leeuwen

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7952, Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XV; 79520G (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.873933
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2011, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Infrared illumination is used in the commercial and defense markets for surveillance and security, for high-speed imaging, and for military covert operations. Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are an attractive candidate for IR illumination applications as they offer advantageous properties such as efficiency, intrinsically low diverging circular beam, low-cost manufacturing, narrow emission spectrum, and high reliability. VCSELs can also operate at high temperatures, thereby meeting the harsh environmental requirements of many illuminators. The efficiency and brightness of these VCSELs also reduce the requirements of the power supply compared to, for example, an LED approach. We present results on VCSEL arrays for illumination applications, as well as results on VCSEL-based illumination experiments. These VCSELs are used in illuminators emitting from a few Watts up to several hundred Watts. The emission of these VCSEL-based illuminators is speckle-free with no interference patterns. Infra-red illumination at up to 1,600ft (500m) from the source has been demonstrated using VCSEL-based illumination, without any optics.

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Jean-Francois Seurin, Guoyang Xu, Baiming Guo, Alexander Miglo, Qing Wang, Prachi Pradhan, James D. Wynn, Viktor Khalfin, Wei-Xiong Zou, Chuni Ghosh, and Robert Van Leeuwen "Efficient vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for infrared illumination applications", Proc. SPIE 7952, Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers XV, 79520G (7 February 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.873933

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