Laser Components has introduced its HI -Series and HI HIHI-FAC Series pulsed laser diodes at 1,550nm for applications in rangefinder systems. Standard night vision goggles cannot detect this wavelength, and light with a wavelength longer than 1,400nm is considered more eye safe than 905nm. The company's HI-Series products feature a divergence of 25 x 12° compared to the industry standard of 12 x 30°, leading to a higher intensity output ready for pin-for-pin replacement.
The company has combined the high performance of its HI-Series with a fast axis collimator lens mounted directly in front of the laser diode chip inside the hermetic TO-can. Divergences of 5mrad can be achieved (depending on the lens used) resulting in 12° x 5mrad divergence, which can save engineering costs and allow for a more compact range finder design. The design can withstand high acceleration rates of over 1,000g and can withstand high temperatures of up to +85ºC. This technology is also available with 905nm pulsed laser diodes and if the wavelength has to be controlled exactly a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) can be integrated into a TO-8 housing.