Partnership delivers multi-channel laser driver for LiDAR systems

By Alex Pluemer, contributing writer

Osram Opto Semiconductors, in collaboration with GaN Systems, recently launched the SPL DS90A_3, an ultra-fast laser driver with a high-power, multi-channel surface-mount (SMT) laser for light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems. The newest edition to Osram’s laser portfolio will provide longer range and higher resolution in LiDAR systems, according to the company.

LiDAR systems have struggled to maintain peak power while transmitting short laser pulses, thereby limiting their range and resolution. The SPL DS90A_3 addresses this issue by delivering up to 120 W of peak output power at 40 A, which can then be modulated for low duty cycles to produce high-resolution 3D cloud points at long range.

Osram expects to introduce a four-channel SMT laser in 2019, with each channel providing 120 W, adding up to 480 W of total peak power. The multiple channels will also increase the LiDAR system’s field of view, providing a more comprehensive assessment of a vehicle’s surroundings. The new laser driver also features a pulse rise time of just 1 nanosecond, a critical factor in enabling vehicles to make split-second decisions at potentially high speeds in order to ensure driver and passenger safety.

LiDAR systems are an essential component of autonomous and semi-autonomous (driving-assisted) vehicles. Onboard lasers emit light pulses, which bounce back to the source after coming into contact with impediments such as other vehicles or pedestrians and are subsequently captured by on-board detectors. The time it takes the pulses to return to the source is used to calculate the distance between the vehicle and the objects. The system uses the data that it collects to create a high-resolution, 3D map of the vehicle’s surroundings, which the vehicle then uses to determine when to brake or change lanes to avoid potential collisions.

“With this new laser, we have succeeded in taking one of the key technologies for autonomous driving another step forward,” according to Andreas Bauer, marketing manager for lasers at Osram. “Thanks to the higher output, the LiDAR system can reliably detect even small and poorly reflecting objects at big distances and take the necessary action in critical driving situations.”