Superluminescent LEDs break 100mW barrier
Denselight Semiconductors, the InP optoelectronic chip manufacturer based in Singapore, claims to have produced the most powerful superluminescent LED (SLED) ever.
The company believes that the device, which emits 120 mW at 1550 nm, could penetrate applications such medical imaging, security and industrial sensing.
"We believe that this high-powered chip can totally change the way broadband [optical] sources are used and deployed today," said Denselight s Derek Leong.
Denselight was originally set up with a view to targeting the fiber-optic communication market, and the source emits in all of the important bands used for long-haul transmission. The company has some components operating in live networks (see related story).
But the company believes that many other applications will now be possible. "In many application areas, like test and measurement, fiber-optic sensors, optical coherence tomography and communications, increased power can certainly extend the range of such systems," said Denselight s VP of engineering, Etsuji Omura.
Optical coherence tomography is a relatively new medical imaging technique that relies on a broadband optical light source to work. The higher power of Denselight s SLED ought to produce improved images of tissue structures and allow faster scanning for real-time imaging.
Having improved the SLED output power from 25 mW to 120 mW in just a year, Denselight has further improvements planned: "It is on our roadmap to release even higher-powered SLEDs over the next several months, with an aim to reach 500 mW soon," continued Omura.
