Osram’s New Lidar Lasers for AV Eyes

Osram have introduced new high-power IR SMT components for lidar applications: the world’s first AEC Q102-qualified single- and four-channel pulse lasers. The two new products offer 125 Watt per channel and an efficiency of up to 33%.

The requirements for safety systems in (semi-) autonomous vehicles are complex. They must be reliable, work in all lighting and weather conditions, identify potential hazards and obstacles in time to take appropriate driving decisions. There is now widespread agreement a combination of lidar, cameras, and radar will be needed to meet these needs.

A central aspect in terms of safety is the range of the used IR light source. A powerful laser is required to be able to look as far ahead as possible. Both products have an output power of 125W at 40A per channel. The four-channel version features a chip with four emission areas delivering 480 watts of optical power.