Nichia has launched GigaWhite, an ultra-bright SMD white laser diode surface mount device (SMD) created by combining a blue laser diode (LD) and phosphor. It was developed for automotive headlights, specialty lighting, and industrial lighting. Nichia’s technology has achieved uniform light with less color irregularity. Taking advantage of the characteristics of its ultra-high luminance, it enables lighting fixtures that are not yet available in the world, as well as compact headlight designs that can only be realized with LDs. In addition, there is a built-in sensor to detect failures (cracks, dropouts, etc.), to prevent laser light leakage, for enhanced safety.
GigaWhite is capable of producing ultra-bright white light that is approximately 10 times brighter than that of ordinary LEDs. Nichia sees this technology enabling:
- Ultra-compact headlights that can change car design.
- A flashlight that can illuminate long distances in the dark or underwater at night to improve safety.
- New lighting designs using optical fiber will innovate how spaces can be illuminated.
When used for automotive headlights, Nichia predicts the extremely high luminance of LD light sources will enable ultra low-profile headlight design, with a lens of less than 10 mm diameter, while still meeting ECE R112 Class-B Regulation requirements. A 1cm wide headlight would allow much greater design freedom to automakers, with almost invisible headlights openings in the car body.
Nichia also predicts:
- ultra-narrow beam angle flashlights,
- fiber optic lighting for street lighting or other difficult to reach applications, and
- fiber coupling for endoscopes, microscopes, and other specialty lighting.
With the release of GigaWhite, Nichia now joins Kyocera SLD Laser and Osram in offering white laser sources for automotive and specialty lighting applications.
More information about Nichia’s GigaWhite laser SMD is available here.
All images: Nichia
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