Vixar adds 10-W VCSEL chip for 3D sensing

By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

Vixar Inc., a subsidiary of Osram, has expanded its vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) chip portfolio with the introduction of a higher-power 10-W chip with greater efficiency. With a 940-nm wavelength, the 10-W chip enables customers in the 3D sensing industry to replace a subassembly that incorporates multiple VCSEL chips with just one device. This reduces overall size and lower costs. The chip is suited for industrial applications such as mapping, automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), and mobile robots.

The 10-W chip measures 1.94 × 1.94 mm and offers low thermal impedance. It also features a pad layout for a low-inductance driving design and offers up to 40% wall-plug efficiency at 60°C. Vixar said that this is impressive due to the chip’s compact size and high operating temperature.

The 10-W VCSEL allows customers to use VCSEL technology in 3D sensing applications such as automatic guided vehicles.

The chip also operates at up to 10× the optimum power, which increases the distance measured, added Vixar.

“VCSELs combine the properties of two lighting technologies — high power density and simple packaging of an infrared LED (IRED) with the spectral width and speed of a laser,” said Vixar. “Unlike Fabry-Perot laser diodes, the VCSEL’s spectral shift with temperature is four times less, making it more compatible with the filters used in 3D cameras.”

Thanks to the advantages of VCSEL technology such as superior beam quality, excellent focusing, and a small footprint, it is finding homes in many consumer applications such as 3D cameras and facial recognition for mobile devices, as well as proximity sensors to detect the presence of nearby objects. Other applications include gesture recognition in gaming systems and greater situational awareness for augmented and virtual reality systems.

The 940-nm chip is available immediately, and an 850-nm version will be available later this year. The 10-W VCSEL will be shown in Vixar’s Booth 5547 at Photonics West, Feb. 4–6, in the Moscone Center in San Francisco.