On 18th March, 2020, Apple ’s latest iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini were launched. Among them, DToF Lidar mounted next to iPad Pro “Dual camera” is particularly notable. It is milestone that DTOF Lidar was extending to the field of virtual reality (VR) and consumer electronics, from the main components of automotive self-driving system; this will be driving another big wave of DToF. Brightlaser has always been the pioneer and practitioner of DToF, the subsidiaries have developed a series of products based on DToF technology, since 2008.
What is DTOF?
DToF is a Direct Time-of-Flight method. It is a measurement method that calculates distance between camera and scene by acquiring to-and-fro flight time of photon. The principles between DToF and IToF differ in terms of emitted light and reflected light. DToF is quite straightforward, that is, a light pulse was given off, the time interval between light pulse emitted and reflected, will be measured, thus obtain the time of flight.
DToF, by sending pixels pulse output, can obtain the number of reflected photons and flight time back to the sensor, through simple analog-to-digital conversion.
Simultaneously, compare with IToF, power consumption and computation will be reduced; longer detecting range can be achieved by adjusting pulse frequency and energy. The range of DToF induction is relatively wider, from a few centimeters to tens of meters; its software complexity is lower than that of triangulation and structured light; also, real-time performance is high. With development of technology, its material cost and corrective operation cost have been gradually dropped. Now, DToF has become the mainstream for future 3D imaging system.
To catch up market opportunities, Brightlaser provides a variety of VCSEL light sources for DToF applications, from single-point DToF to 3D DToF;applied to consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, optical communications, industrial processing and so on.
Brightlaser DToF VCSELs ：
High-power VCSEL pulsed laser diodes, designed specifically for DToF single-point and multi-line lidars, can replace traditional Edge-Emitting Pulsed Laser (EEL) Diodes; compared with EEL, the Wavelength Temperature Drift of VCSEL is only 0.07nm / ℃, while, EEL is generally 0.3nm / ℃, so that in full range, bandpass wavelength range of filter can be reduced, which can more effectively decrease interference of ambient light, improve signal-to-noise, extend detecting distance; SMD packaging is more facilitated for mass production and cost-efficiency. Brightlaser provides SMD and TO package, in wavelengths of 808nm, 850nm, and 940nm. Pulse power with 10W, 25W, 50W, 100W, 500W, also can be customized according to customer’s requirement.
