Development of high brightness quantum dot lasers for LIDAR light sources at 1250 nm

• Applicant: Professor Dr. André Strittmatter
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 448767745

Novel semiconductor laser technology is on-demand for light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems which are key safety components for autonomous driving assistance systems (ADAS). In LiDAR, light pulses are sent out omnidirectional and, once reflected from objects, are received by photodetection systems. Fundamentally, the system’s scan speed depends on the laser power that is available at each measurement spot. Unfortunately, the light output from conventional semiconductor edge-emitting lasers is highly divergent along the vertical direction which not only reduces power density but also the possible resolution of the LiDAR system. Moreover, as these system operate in free-space eye safety regulations have to be obeyed. Current systems operate at non-optimum wavelengths around 905 nm since a mature semiconductor technology at the most attractive wavelength of 1250 nm has not been demonstrated so far. With this project, a Chinese and a German group team up for developing epitaxial growth and laser technology to cover this gap. Two recently patented novel concepts for high brightness edge emitting lasers, the HiBBEE laser, and the corrugated stripe laser will be combined with high-density quantum dot stacks and optimized for high-brightness, low-divergence 1250 nm laser emission. With these novel lasers higher resolution, faster scanning, and higher energy efficiency LiDAR systems will become available. In addition the complexity and cost of any of the potential optical ADAS systems when including these single mode lasers is dramatically reduced.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: China
• Partner Organisation: National Natural Science Foundation of China
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Sicong Tian