InPHRED Announces World’s First Commercial SWIR VCSEL

InPHRED is proud to announce the world’s first cost-effective, mass-market Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL). This groundbreaking milestone sets a new standard for SWIR VCSELs, opening up transformative possibilities in a range of industries, including consumer 3D and AR/VR sensing, industrial and biomedical sensing, autonomous vehicles, telecommunications, and defense.

The SA-series SWIR VCSEL sensor is currently available at 1,380nm (custom wavelengths between 1,300nm and 2,200nm available upon request), with mW operating power and peak conversion efficiency (PCE) of 30%.

Industry Impact
For the past 30 years, the semiconductor industry has sought an affordable and manufacturable SWIR VCSEL to enable high-speed, high-resolution imaging and sensing in the eye-safe, high-resolution, and biologically-sensitive SWIR emission range. However, previous technologies have faced limitations of achievable power efficiency and commercial scalability. 

By developing a simple, scalable manufacturing process for InP VCSELs emitting between 1,300-2,200 nm wavelengths, InPHRED is poised to lead the market in delivering high-performance, commercially-viable SWIR VCSELs. This breakthrough addresses the critical needs of automotive, biomedical, industrial, defense, and data communications applications, where robust, high-precision sensing capabilities are essential.

Applications
InPHRED’s sensor combines the high imaging clarity and resolution of SWIR wavelengths with the superior efficiency, modulation speed, and manufacturability (yield, cost, scale, integration) of VCSELs.

• Consumer & Mobile: SWIR VCSELs enable consumer and mobile 3D sensing, Augmented/Virtual Reality, proximity sensing, biometric identification (FaceID) and more, with under-display integration, lightweight form factor, and low power consumption.
• Biomedical Sensing: SWIR VCSELs unlock affordable, externally wearable, non-invasive sensors to monitor many biomolecules (e.g. blood glucose, blood oxygen, cortisol, etc.) that are optically responsive in the SWIR wavelength range.
• Autonomous LiDAR: SWIR VCSELs uniquely provide eye-safe, high-depth, high-quality 3D object imaging and mapping for automotive and industrial LiDAR (>200m range)—even in adverse low-light environmental conditions such as ran, fog, and dust, where traditional camera vision fails.
• Industrial Sensing: SWIR VCSELs offer enhanced precision for material inspection and quality control in a range of agricultural, manufacturing, and environmental settings.
• Data Communications: SWIR VCSELs have low divergence, high optical output, and can attain high modulation speeds, making them well-suited for optical interconnects.

Read the full announcement here