Multi-wavelength VCSEL array to reduce speckle
US8743923B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 31, 2012 |
| Grant date | Jun 3, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 31, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S2301/176
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Embodiments of the invention describe an illuminator having a light source to originate an illumination beam, wherein the light source further comprises a set of vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), including a first VCSEL having a first laser emission wavelength, and a second VCSEL having a second laser emission wavelength different than the first laser emission wavelength. Thus, by varying laser emission wavelengths of VCSELs in a VCSEL array, embodiments of the invention produce low-contrast speckle, and do not limit the imaging capabilities of the host illumination system. In some embodiments of the invention, vertical external cavity surface emitting lasers (VECSELs) are utilized to produce the above described varying laser emission wavelengths.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.