Diode Laser Headlights Could Replace LED Styles

The laser headlights, production engineers at BMW say, offer myriad advantages from LED headlamps. One of the major benefits of an LED light is that it is low-energy, but lasers have been proven to be even lower energy. Because lasers take up so much less space than LEDs they allow for greater flexibility in auto design for carmakers. Consider the intense light that comes from a laser pen and you can see the possibilities of space-saving potential for car manufacturers.

In BMW's process, the laser light will not project directly onto the road, but will instead be aimed at small mirrors that will reflect the light onto the lens. Inside the lens, yellow phosphorus will generate an intense white light that will be bounced off an embedded reflector onto the road. The assembly will contain three laser diodes to generate a blue laser beam 10 microns wide; a fifth as thin as that of a human strand of hair.

As with LEDs being able to have both its shape and intensity varied based on the configuration of the reflectors, lasers will also have this technology but will be even more accurate in beam placement. In addition, the laser diode lights will have very little beam "spill" on either side. It was noted that BMW car designers are still dealing with technological issues such as sensitivity to vibration and heat.

Diode laser lens assemblies created by UKA Optics could be incorporated into such a laser vehicle light technology just as they are utilized in CD, DVD players, laser pointers, laser levels, laser surface inspection systems and more.