Laser light source for a vehicle
The present invention is directed to a laser light source for a vehicle.
1. A lighting apparatus for a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
a housing coupled to the vehicle;
an edge emitting laser diode device disposed within the housing, the edge emitting laser diode device comprising a gallium and nitrogen containing material having a non-polar, semipolar, or polar surface orientation, the edge emitting laser diode device comprising:
an n-cladding layer with a thickness from 100 nm to 5000 nm and a Si doping level of 1E17 to 3E18 cm −3 ;
an n-side separate confinement heterostructure (SCH) layer comprised of InGaN having a molar fraction of In of between 3% and 10%;
multiple quantum well active region layers comprised of at least two InGaN quantum wells, where each pair of the InGaN quantum wells is separated by a GaN barrier layer;
a p-cladding layer with a doping level of 2E17 to 2E19 cm −3 ; and
a p++-GaN contact layer with a doping level of 1E19 to 1E21 cm −3 ;
an optical component aligned with an output laser beam of the edge emitting laser diode device; and
a phosphor material aligned with the output laser beam of the edge emitting laser diode device and configured to convert at least a portion of the output laser beam from a first wavelength to a different wavelength, wherein the lighting apparatus is configured to output a substantially white light comprising a portion of the output laser beam having the first wavelength and a converted portion of the output laser beam having the different wavelength.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the housing is disposed in a projection system.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the phosphor material is selected from at least one of a red phosphor, a green phosphor, or a blue phosphor.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a reflector aligned with the output laser beam of the edge emitting laser diode device.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of edge emitting laser diode devices.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a controller coupled to the edge emitting laser diode device.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a reflector aligned with the output laser beam of the edge emitting laser diode device and a controller coupled to the edge emitting laser diode device.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the optical component comprises a waveguide coupled to the edge emitting laser diode device.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a controller coupled to the edge emitting laser diode device; and a reflector aligned with the output laser beam of the edge emitting laser diode device; and wherein the optical component comprises a waveguide coupled to the edge emitting laser diode device.
10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a controller coupled to the edge emitting laser diode device; and a reflector aligned with the output laser beam of the edge emitting laser diode device; and wherein the optical component comprises a waveguide coupled to the edge emitting laser diode device; and wherein the housing is disposed in a projection device.
11. A light source apparatus for a vehicle comprising:
a housing coupled to the vehicle;
a plurality of edge emitting laser diode devices on a common gallium and nitrogen containing material disposed within the housing, each of the plurality of edge emitting laser diode devices configured to emit a laser beam at a different wavelength, at least one of the edge emitting laser diode devices having a gallium and nitrogen containing material with a non-polar, semipolar, or polar surface orientation, the at least one of the edge emitting laser diode devices comprising:
an n-cladding layer with a thickness from 100 nm to 5000 nm and a Si doping level of 1E17 to 3E18 cm −3 ;
an n-side separate confinement heterostructure (SCH) layer comprised of InGaN having a molar fraction of In of between 3% and 10%;
multiple quantum well active region layers comprised of at least two InGaN quantum wells, where each pair of the InGaN quantum wells is separated by a GaN barrier layer;
a p-cladding layer with a doping level of 2E17 to 2E19 cm −3 ; and
a p++-GaN contact layer with a doping level of 1E19 to 1E21 cm −3 ;
a component disposed within the housing and arranged to receive outputs from each of the plurality of edge emitting laser diode devices and output a laser beam; and
one or more optical members aligned with the laser beam, at least one of the one or more optical members comprising a phosphor material configured to convert at least a portion of the laser beam from a first wavelength to a different wavelength, the one or more optical members configured to output a substantially white emission comprising a portion of the laser beam having the first wavelength and a converted portion of the laser beam having the different wavelength.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the laser beam is characterized by a blue color.
13. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising a reflector aligned with the one or more optical members.
14. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising a controller coupled to the plurality of edge emitting laser diode devices.
15. A light apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
a housing coupled to a vehicle;
an edge emitting laser diode device disposed within the housing, the edge emitting laser diode device comprising a gallium and nitrogen containing material, the edge emitting laser diode device comprising:
an n-cladding layer with a thickness from 100 nm to 5000 nm and a Si doping level of 1E17 to 3E18 cm −3 ;
an n-side separate confinement heterostructure (SCH) layer comprised of InGaN having a molar fraction of In of between 3% and 10% and a thickness from 20 nm to 100 nm;
multiple quantum well active region layers comprised of at least two InGaN quantum wells, where each pair of the InGaN quantum wells is separated by a GaN barrier layer;
a p-cladding layer with a thickness from 400 nm to 1000 nm with Mg doping level of 2E17 to 2E19 cm −3 ; and
a p++-GaN contact layer with a thickness from 20 nm to 40 nm with Mg doping level of 1E19 to 1E21 cm −3 ;
an optical component aligned with an output laser beam of the edge emitting laser diode device and having a waveguide coupled to the edge emitting laser diode device; and
a color wheel having phosphor material, the color wheel aligned with the output laser beam of the edge emitting laser diode device, the phosphor material configured to convert at least a portion of the output laser beam from a first wavelength to a different wavelength, wherein the color wheel is configured to output a substantially white light comprising a portion of the output laser beam having the first wavelength and a converted portion of the output laser beam having the different wavelength.
16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the gallium and nitrogen containing material has at least one of a non-polar, a semipolar, or a polar surface orientation.
17. The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising a reflector aligned with the output of the color wheel.
18. The apparatus of claim 15 further comprising a controller coupled to the edge emitting laser diode device.