19 January 2012

Opnext adds high-power 660nm red laser with built-in monitor photo diode capability

Optical module and component maker Opnext Inc of Fremont, CA, USA, which provides families of high-power, low-operating-current red and infrared laser diodes, has launched a 660nm red high-power laser with a built-in monitor photo-diode (for mass production beginning in April).

The HL65051DG, which is designed for applications such as LIDAR (laser imaging detection and ranging) and plastic optical fiber (POF) communications applications, achieves what is claimed to be optimal performance and output by enabling system designers to monitor the laser’s performance and adjust output power in real time.

Using a proprietary design, the HL65051DG adds to Opnext’s laser diode product family, which features the HL63142DG, which also offers a built-in monitoring capability and was launched in January 2011. The built-in monitoring allows a system designer to control the optical performance by monitoring the photo-diode current and adjusting for temperature and power variants. Opnext says that performance-monitoring capabilities are essential for maintaining constant laser output power in laser imaging detection and ranging applications as well as POF communications applications, such as the automotive market, where there are changes in the operating environment. The HL65051DG operates at a temperature range up to 60°C and 120mW in the 660nm wavelength band in a 5.6mm-diameter TO industry-standard package.

“We expect to see initial demand for this high-quality laser from industry applications where precise laser control is an important performance parameter,” says Tadayuki Kanno, president of Opnext’s devices business unit. “The industry trend is moving toward producing high-power laser diodes that consume less energy,” he adds.

“We value the Opnext high-quality laser devices and the tremendous service and support they provide across a variety of applications for our broad customer base,” comments Chris Gladding, CEO of semiconductor laser module and system maker Blue Sky Research of Milpitas, CA, USA. “The HL65051DG is another example of how Opnext stepped up to meet a need in the marketplace for a high-power red laser diode.”

Opnext offers what is reckoned to be one of the industry’s most comprehensive portfolios of laser diodes, spanning from 404nm to 852nm. The firm claims that its red and infrared laser diodes are proven to consume a low operating current, extending battery life while still maintaining the integrity of the laser diode power in applications such as gun sights, rangefinders, line-leveling construction systems, and biomedical applications.

Opnext will demonstrate end-application products that use itslaser diode technology in booth 738 at the Photonics West 2012 conference in San Francisco (24-26 January).

Tags: Opnext Red lasers

Visit: www.opnext.com