By OSRAM Opto Semiconductors Inc 153
The BIDOS product family from OSRAM is fully dedicated to VCSELs. These VCSELs from OSRAM have a large power output ranging from 500 mW to a few watts and are ideal for depth sensing applications. Using these in combination with a time-of-flight (TOF) camera, one can measure the reflected light and calculate a depth map. The potential applications are endless.
VCSELs offer the advantages of a laser with the capability of emitting short and powerful bursts of light in a very narrow bandwidth. This is important for diffraction optics and to increase the precision of the depth measurement.
Unlike edge-emitting lasers, VCSELs do not offer a single mode Gaussian beam and have limited output power density. If finer beam control is required, the laser’s pattern can be focused with external optics as well.
On the positive side, VCSELs are much more affordable than edge-emitting lasers since their manufacturing process requires fewer steps like that of LEDs. They are compact and easy to incorporate in a design due to the standard SMT manufacturing. The PLPVQ family of VCSELs opens depth sensing to a full new spectrum of applications.