World’s First Laser-based Automotive Headlight Modules with White and Infrared Dual Illumination for Increased Safety and Visibility Introduced

Following KSLD’s highly successful product launch of its white emitting LaserLight device into automotive high beam boost applications in 2019, the company is now introducing LaserLight Headlight Modules that deliver full feature, high brightness, high efficiency regulated low beam and high beam functionality with White and IR dual emission. The high brightness, long range white illumination provides a sharp cutoff, high contrast and precise beam patterns with minimum glare to maximize driver visibility and optimize IIHS scores. The IR illumination increases night vision camera visibility of pedestrians and of foggy or smokey roadways, while also enabling new forward lighting functions including ranging and 3D flash LiDAR sensing. The LaserLight Headlight Modules are arranged in a set of 4 per headlight: 2 modules for low beam and 2 modules for high beam, with either SAE or ECE/CCC regulated emission pattern. The LaserLight Headlight Modules are ultra-compact with a slim profile of less than 12.7mm lens height, and can be configured in a horizontal, 2x2, vertical, or offset layout, offering game changing design and styling freedom to Tier 1 headlight makers and OEM vehicle manufacturers.

The LaserLight Headlight Modules incorporate KSLD’s innovative LaserLight SMD White/IR dual emission devices, Winner of the prestigious 2021 Prism Award for Photonics Innovation, Transportation Category. These LaserLight SMD device products will be on display at CES, delivering high brightness, high visibility, eye-safe illumination for mobility applications including avionics, drones, railway, and marine. In the automotive aftermarket, KSLD’s LaserLight SMDs have illuminated podium finisher vehicles since 2018 at the BFGoodrich SCORE Baja 1000, the world’s most prestigious off-road motorsport race. In the consumer and professional product space, the dual emission sources are finding application in portable lighting products, night vision illuminators, and rangefinders for recreation and outdoor, search & rescue, and security applications. Until now, dual emission white/IR sources have not been possible because LEDs and legacy lamp-based light sources are unable to deliver high brightness white and IR emission from the same point source, and they are incapable of being modulated at the high speeds required for accurate sensing and fast data rates.

To support the future of wireless connectivity, KSLD will display DataLight^TM, the world’s first laser LiFi commercial development kit featuring a high-speed 1 Gbps, secure, RF-free, eye-safe bidirectional link. Laser LiFi is being adopted in mobility applications including car-to-x exterior, vehicle interiors, airplane cabins, undersea and space, defense and security, as well as future smart cities, healthcare, and smart factories. KSLD is pioneering LiFi innovations for future products as well and recently demonstrated world record performance of 100 Gbps.

Beyond lighting, sensing, and communication, KSLD will demonstrate its innovative optical power transmission over fiber using its high efficiency GaN laser diode and photodiode semiconductor chip technology at CES 2023. This significant advancement in the field of power transfer has the potential to replace heavy and sensitive metal wire harnesses in mobility applications with a lightweight, noise-free optical solution, increasing the efficiency and extending the range of electric vehicles, airplanes, or satellites, while making them more secure and safe. This power-over-light solution can be configured to include optical data communications to deliver data and power to sensors in a distributed system in a vehicle or even in space, where radiation hardened GaN based semiconductors are ideally suited.

KSLD’s fiber light source products will also be on display delivering white emissive fiber illumination with more than 10,000 cd/m2 for ultra-bright lighting for vehicle exterior grills, logos, daytime running lights (DRLs) and interiors. These sources deliver 10 times the brightness of LED solutions, producing brilliant and efficient illumination from thin, low cost fiber optics and a remote light source.

About KYOCERA SLD Laser, Inc.
KYOCERA SLD Laser, Inc. (KSLD) is a wholly owned subsidiary and group company of KYOCERA Corporation, commercializing a new generation of gallium nitride based laser light sources for automotive, mobility, specialty lighting, and consumer applications. The company is ISO 9001 certified and automotive compliant to IATF 16949, and operates facilities in Santa Barbara, CA and in Fremont, CA. KSLD’s high luminance LaserLight^TM sources are UL and IEC safety certified and are utilized in a myriad of applications including automotive & mobility, specialty & portable lighting, entertainment & outdoor, projection & AR/VR displays, biomedical instrumentation & therapeutics, and industrial imaging & material processing. The company was recently ranked in Fortune magazine’s “2022 Best Workplaces in Manufacturing & Production^TM,” having promoted an employee-centric corporate culture since its founding. To learn more about KSLD, visit www.kyocera-sldlaser.com or contact the company at info@kyocera-sldlaser.com or 1-866-753-5273.

About KYOCERA
Kyocera Corporation (TOKYO:6971, https://global.kyocera.com/), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of fine ceramics (also known as “advanced ceramics”). By combining these engineered materials with metals and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of industrial and automotive components, semiconductor packages, electronic devices, smart energy systems, printers, copiers, and mobile phones. During the year ended March 31, 2021, the company’s consolidated sales revenue totaled 1.5 trillion yen (approx. US$13.8 billion). Kyocera is ranked #603 on Forbes magazine’s 2021 “Global 2000” list of the world’s largest publicly traded companies, and has appeared on The Wall Street Journal’s list of “The World’s 100 Most Sustainably Managed Companies.”

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