2020 Innovators Awards: Meet the Silver-level Honorees

LASERS & SOURCES | Multijunction Semiconductor Laser Diodes

This patent-pending, multi-junction semiconductor laser diode was designed to provide a high-power, long-reach, low-cost, safe, and efficient lidar solution for autonomous drones, cars, trucks, and maritime and aircraft platforms. By enabling autonomous lidar systems to reach greater than 250 m without compromise, this unique multi-junction semiconductor edge-emitting laser emits over 80 W with a slope efficiency of 1 W/A. Operating at 1550 nm, the triple-junction device provides three times the peak power of a single emitter, thus improving the resolution and penetration efficiency in bad weather. It can be operated at pulse widths between 2 and 10 ns at a 200–400 kHz pulse repetition rate. SemiNex Corporation (Peabody, MA; seminex.com)

DETECTORS & IMAGING | MX377 Camera

Targeting scientific imaging applications, the MX377 camera features a PCIe interface, the GSENSE6060 37.7 MPixel sCMOS back-side illumination sensor from Gpixel, a 44 fps frame rate, and a quantum efficiency of 95%. The GSENSE6060 data output consists of two readout amplifiers (high and low), providing the possibility of HDR combination with up to 90 dB dynamic range. The readout from the two amplifiers results in a 16-bit dynamic range, and is customizable, which offers advantages for numerous applications such as high-energy physics, life science, TEM, astronomy, and space situational awareness. XIMEA (Broomfield, CO; ximea.com)

 LASERS & SOURCES | Colibri Hi-Rep 1.5 µm Laser

The Colibri HR 1.5 µm (Q-switched) laser combines a high repetition rate of 300 KHz with a pulse energy of 2 µJ and excellent beam quality in a 19 × 18 × 16.5 mm package. Plus, it costs a fraction of other low-cost 1550 nm pulsed fiber lasers on the market. Its impressive balance of performance with a high repetition rate, lower but improving pulse energy, and excellent beam quality, combined with its small size and low cost, enable diverse applications across ADAS, robotics, AGVs, rangefinders, and security. Hitronics Technologies (Milpitas, CA; hi-tronics.com)

LASERS & SOURCES | PicoBlade 3

Available in IR, green, and UV wavelengths, the PicoBlade 3 delivers excellent beam quality, high pulse-to-pulse stability, and long-term output power stability at significantly higher power of up to 50 W at 355 nm over an extended range of repetition rates (400 kHz to 8 MHz). The higher-power PicoBlade 3 employs a new design that enables faster processing and improved throughput for micromachining applications including OLED, PCB, semiconductor, metal and solar cell processing, allowing users to cut through thicker substrates, decrease processing time, and improve quality. Lumentum (Milpitas, CA; lumentum.com)

LASERS & SOURCES | Aqila Series 1.5 µm Fiber Lasers

The Aqila Laser Series sets a new benchmark for cost, size, and performance of 1550 nm fiber lasers. Achieving greater than 60% fiber coupling efficiency, it measures 50 × 55 × 19 mm and offers a 50% reduction in both cost and size, bringing 1550 nm lidars one step closer to mainstream adoption for autonomous vehicle applications. Not only will automobile manufacturers finally be able to afford the costs associated with the long-distance and high-performance ranging provided by 1.5 µm lidar, but they will also be more open to integrating smaller, less-obtrusive, and low-power consumption lidar into their vehicles. Hitronics Technologies (Milpitas, CA; hi-tronics.com)

TEST & MEASUREMENT | SpectralLED RS-7-1-SWIR Tunable Light Source

The SpectralLED RS-7-SWIR Tunable Light Source delivers continuous broadband shortwave-infrared (SWIR) illumination with purely solid-state emission via nine LEDs, providing unparalleled performance and accuracy for SWIR image sensors and InGaAs detector characterization in the spectral range from 900 to 1700 nm. The platform is suited for laboratory or production line integration, with integrated temperature control for the LED array, and real-time optical feedback to ensure rock-solid stability and consistent results. Typical switching time between spectral profiles is on the order of 50 ms, and essentially any spectral profile is possible. Gamma Scientific (San Diego, CA; gamma-sci.com)