One of our development partners has developed prototypes of a new type of laser driven light source ideally suited for getting large amounts of white light into small optical fibers.
The initial targeted market application area is as a next generation light source for vitro-retinal surgery. Other uses are for illumination for small microendoscopy and micro imaging applications and spectroscopy.
Most retinal surgery light sources utilized today try to launch the light from large area Xenon or LED light sources into small optical fibers. The fibers need to be as small as possible to keep the incision area to a minimum.
These light sources are inefficient electrically and optically as there is a limit to how much light can be launched into these small (<200 micron) fibers due to the etandue of the light sources.
This new light source utilizes a blue ~450 nm laser source to excite a small phosphor region, which is then optically reimaged into a small optical fiber.
The proof of concept (OPI Phase I) device is emitting a few mW’s of white light from a 200 micron fiber. This is A LOT of light from such a small fiber (~10,000 lux)
Future commercialization activities involve scaling the output power to 10’s of mW, engineering refinements and packaging of the laser diode and phosphor conversion system, phosphor blend improvements for improved color quality, lifetime studies and additional market validation.
Contact us for more information.
