Violet and ultraviolet illumination device configured with a gallium and nitrogen containing laser source

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11236889-B2
Application number	US-202117216220-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 29, 2021
Priority date	Jul 16, 2019
Publication date	Feb 1, 2022
Grant date	Feb 1, 2022

Abstract

A light source system or apparatus configured with an infrared illumination source includes a gallium and nitrogen containing laser diode based white light source. The light source system includes a first pathway configured to direct directional electromagnetic radiation from the gallium and nitrogen containing laser diode to a first wavelength converter and to output a white light emission. In some embodiments infrared emitting laser diodes are included to generate the infrared illumination. In some embodiments infrared emitting wavelength converter members are included to generate the infrared illumination. In some embodiments a second wavelength converter is optically excited by a UV or blue emitting gallium and nitrogen containing laser diode, a laser diode operating in the long wavelength visible spectrum such as a green laser diode or a red laser diode, by a near infrared emitting laser diode, by the white light emission produced by the first wavelength converter, or by some combination thereof. A beam shaper may be configured to direct the white light emission and an infrared emission for illuminating a target of interest and transmitting a data signal. In some configurations, sensors and feedback loops are included.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A light source configured for visible light emission and violet or ultraviolet (UV) emission, the light source comprising:
a nitrogen containing laser diode configured as a first pump-light device;
the nitrogen containing laser diode comprising an optical cavity; the optical cavity comprising an optical waveguide region and one or more facet regions,
the nitrogen containing laser diode configured to output directional electromagnetic radiation through at least one of the facet regions;
the directional electromagnetic radiation from the nitrogen containing laser diode characterized by a first peak wavelength;
a first wavelength converter optically coupled to a pathway to receive the directional electromagnetic radiation from the first pump-light device, wherein the wavelength converter is configured to convert at least a fraction of the directional electromagnetic radiation with the first peak wavelength to at least a second peak wavelength that is longer than the first peak wavelength and to generate the visible light emission as a white-color emission comprising at least the second peak wavelength;
the light source configured with an violet or UV emitting laser diode to provide the violet or UV emission;
the violet or UV emitting laser diode configured to output a directional electromagnetic radiation characterized by a third peak wavelength;
the third peak wavelength characterized by a wavelength in a violet or UV portion of the electromagnetic spectrum;
a package member configured with a base member; and
at least one common support member configured to support at least the nitrogen containing laser diode member and the first wavelength converter member.

2. The light source of claim 1 further comprising an infrared emitting laser diode to provide an infrared emission, the infrared emitting laser diode configured to output an electromagnetic radiation characterized by a fourth peak wavelength in the infrared region.

3. The light source of claim 1 wherein the first peak wavelength is in a blue wavelength rage of 420 nm to 480 nm, and the violet or UV emission is in a UV wavelength range of 270 nm to 390 nm or a violet wavelength range of 390 nm to 425 nm.

4. The light source of claim 1 further comprising a beam shaper configured to direct the visible light emission and the violet or UV emission for illuminating a target of interest.

5. The light source of claim 4 , wherein the beam shaper comprises one or a combination of optical elements selected a list of slow axis collimating lens, fast axis collimating lens, aspheric lens, ball lens, total internal reflector (TIR) optics, parabolic lens optics, refractive optics, and micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) mirrors configured to direct, collimate, focus the white-color spectrum to at least modify an angular distribution thereof.

6. The light source of claim 1 wherein the nitrogen containing laser diode is a gallium and nitrogen containing laser diode emitting a first peak wavelength in the violet wavelength region of 390 nm to 420 nm or the blue wavelength region of 420 nm to 480 nm.

7. The light source of claim 1 wherein the first wavelength converter member is characterized by a reflective mode operation such that the directional electromagnetic radiation with the first wavelength from the first pump-light is incident on an excitation surface of the wavelength converter member; and wherein the primary emission of the second wavelength from the wavelength converter is emitted from the same excitation surface of the wavelength converter member.

8. The light source of claim 7 wherein the first wavelength converter is optically coupled to the pathway to receive the directional electromagnetic radiation from the violet or UV emitting laser diode, wherein the first wavelength converter is configured to reflect and/or scatter the violet or UV emission; and wherein the violet or UV emission and the visible light emission are overlapping within a same spatial area.

9. The light source of claim 1 wherein the first wavelength converter member is characterized by a transmissive mode operation such that the directional electromagnetic radiation with the first wavelength from the first pump-light is incident on an excitation surface of the wavelength converter member; and wherein the primary emission of the second wavelength from the wavelength converter is emitted from an emission surface; wherein the emission surface is on the opposite side of the wavelength converter from the excitation surface.

10. The light source of claim 9 wherein the first wavelength converter is optically coupled to the pathway to receive the directional electromagnetic radiation from the violet or UV laser diode, wherein the wavelength converter is configured to transmit and/or scatter the violet or UV emission; and wherein the violet or UV emission and the visible light emission are overlapping within a same spatial area.

11. The light source of claim 1 , wherein the first wavelength converter member is comprised of a phosphor material; and wherein the phosphor is comprised of a ceramic yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) doped with Ce, or a single crystal YAG doped with Ce, or a powdered YAG comprising a binder material; and wherein the phosphor member has an optical conversion efficiency of at least 50 lumen per optical watt.

12. The laser diode of claim 1 wherein the violet or UV emitting laser diode is nitrogen containing.

13. The light source of claim 1 , wherein the package is a surface mount device (SMD) package and wherein a common support member is configured from the base of the SMD package.

14. The light source of claim 1 , wherein the package is selected from a TO can type, a flat package type, or a butterfly type.

15. The light source of claim 1 , wherein the visible light emission with at least the second peak wavelength is coupled into an optical fiber member, or wherein the violet or UV light emission with the third peak wavelength is coupled into an optical fiber, or wherein both the visible light emission with at least the second peak wavelength and the violet or UV light emission with the third peak wavelength are coupled into an optical fiber member; wherein the optical fiber is a single mode fiber (SMF) or a multi-mode fiber (MMF); and wherein the optical fiber has a core diameter ranging from about 1 um to 10 um, about 10 um to 50 um, about 50 um to 150 um, about 150 um to 500 um, about 500 um to 1 mm, about 1 mm to 5 mm or greater than 5 mm.

16. The light source of claim 15 , wherein the optical fiber includes at least one of a transport fiber or a leaky scattering fiber.

17. The light source of claim 1 further comprising one or more sensors and a controller to provide an input signal to the light source; wherein the one or more sensors are configured in a feedback loop circuit to provide a feedback current or voltage to the controller to tune at least one of the one or more control signals to adjust brightness of the visible light emission and/or the violet or UV emission.

18. The light source of claim 1 configured for use in one or more applications including spotlighting, detection, imaging, projection display, spatially dynamic lighting devices, sensing, LIDAR, LiFi, visible light communication, general lighting, commercial lighting and display, automotive lighting, automotive communication and/or detection, defense and security, search and rescue, industrial processing, internet communications, or agriculture or horticulture.

19. The light source of claim 1 configured fo

Assignees

• Kyocera Sld Laser Inc

Inventors

• Raring James W
• Rudy Paul
• Mclaurin Melvin
• Trottier Troy

Classifications

• F21Y2113/30

  of visible and non-visible spectrum · CPC title

• H10H20/8512

  Wavelength conversion materials · CPC title

• H10H20/825

  containing nitrogen, e.g. GaN · CPC title

• H10H20/042

  Superluminescent diodes · CPC title

• H10H20/851

  Wavelength conversion means · CPC title