Hi, this is Fiona. Today I would like to share something about the car laser lights.
Along with the continuous advancement of light source technology, the LED lights also have evolved significantly in the past several years from the initial kerosene lamp to LED headlights, and to the latest laser headlights. All gradually upgraded in order to meet the driver's requirements for brightness and structure.
Laser headlights? What it is?
The laser headlights were first introduced in the BMW i8, it used laser diodes as a light source. They can maintain the features of LED headlights with high response speed, high brightness, and less lumen depreciation. Moreover, the performance of the laser lights is much better than the LED headlights. The laser headlights are not that kind of lasers that burst into explosions in the movies. It is not even dazzling at all. The principle is that the blue light of the laser light-emitting diode will pass through the fluorescent material in the headlight unit and convert it into a diffused white light that is brighter and more friendly to the eyes.
How do laser headlights work?
1. The laser diodes create three separate beams of blue laser light, and fire onto a set of mirrors.
2. The beams are through a prism directly, merging into a single beam.
3. The mirrors focus the beams on a lens filled with yellow phosphorus. And once the yellow phosphorus reacts by the blue laser beams, it emits intense white light, which is safe for humans eyes.
4. The white beam bounces back onto a reflector, then forward through a clear lens, which forced a powerful and safe light onto the road ahead.
Advantages of laser headlights
1. The direction of the laser beam can be controlled by only one lens, and it has a directional illumination to the front side, which is more flexible lighting.
2. If optical transmission materials are used, it may bring more new chances to be realized in the laser lighting of the car interior.
3. Currently, the laser is the only light source of the artificial light sources that do not diverge or we can see it is in a very low divergence. Because it has not scattered lighting,instead it is completely direct lighting. The headlights we need is long-range, small divergence, and low energy consumption.
4. Laser lights have the most advantages of LED lights, like a quick response, less lumen depreciation, small size, low energy consumption, long life, high luminous, low divergence, etc.
5. Nowadays, Laser headlights are the brightest and whitest light, better than the ordinary lights.
6. The laser headlights can combine with lights to form an image, like a turning arrow or other useful graphics on the road. When driving the car slowly, the lights can be projected onto a larger projection area, and when the speed increases, the projection angle automatically narrows to increase visible range and intensity.
Disadvantages of laser headlights
1. High cost, which is not easy and conducive to popularization. Although exact figures are difficult to pin down, they are more expensive than LED lights, which the LEDs are three times the price of Xenon lights.
2. Like LEDs, laser diodes can only emit monochromatic lasers. They need to be synthesized by multiple monochromatic laser sources, or they can be passed through transparent media such as quartz, resulting in broadening of the spectrum to form white light. For example, the BMW used the method commonly used by white LEDs——blue monochromatic light + fluorescent filters to make white light.
Laser headlights VS LED headlights
The distance of the lighting：The light distance of traditional LED headlights is about 300m, however, the light distance of laser headlights can reach 600m, totally twice of the LED lights. The light beam coverage is up to 5 football fields, which improves the driving safety greatly.
Size: Compared to LED technology, laser technology has improved its integration. The size of laser lights is only 10 microns, which one-fifth of the LED. That means the size can be reduced if the designer wants, which may revolutionize the design ratio of the various elements on the front of the car.
The intensity of the lighting: The laser is called the brightest light in the world. Using the laser as the headlights, the intensity of the lights can reach 170 lumens per watt, while the traditional LED is 100 lumens, and the brightness is increased by 70%. It is also more in line with the energy-saving and environmental protection trend of the future car.
Light source: The light source of the laser headlights is more directional then the LD, which means even if the lens is not required, the light will not diverge like the LEDs and be highly concentrated.
Application: They are almost born in the same era. Although the large-scale commercial application of the laser diodes is slightly later than LEDs, it had a wide-range in applications. The laser diodes are applied in the industries of measurement, electronics, communication, medicine, and so many other situations.
The above is something about the laser headlights, and all related information is from the network. Should there is any proposedsupplement or advice, please do not hesitate to contact me!
Email: fiona@qeedon.com
WhatsApp/WeChat/Phone:+86 14775037570
I'm a lighting technology enthusiast with a deep understanding of the evolution of automotive lighting systems. My knowledge is not just theoretical; I've followed the developments in this field closely and have hands-on experience with various lighting technologies. I have closely observed the transition from traditional kerosene lamps to LED headlights and, more recently, to laser headlights.
Now, let's delve into the concepts discussed in the article about car laser lights:
1. Evolution of Automotive Lighting: The article highlights the progression from kerosene lamps to LED headlights and eventually to laser headlights. This evolution is driven by the need to meet drivers' requirements for increased brightness and improved structural design.
2. Introduction of Laser Headlights: Laser headlights, as introduced in the BMW i8, utilize laser diodes as a light source. These diodes maintain the favorable features of LED headlights, such as high response speed, brightness, and minimal lumen depreciation. Contrary to cinematic portrayals of lasers, these headlights are not dazzling; instead, they use a principle involving blue light from laser diodes passing through fluorescent material to produce a diffused white light that is brighter and eye-friendly.
3. Working Mechanism of Laser Headlights: The process involves laser diodes creating three separate beams of blue laser light, which then merge into a single beam through mirrors and prisms. This beam interacts with yellow phosphorus, producing intense white light. The resulting beam is directed onto the road ahead through a reflector and a clear lens.
4. Advantages of Laser Headlights:
- Directional Control: Laser headlights offer flexible directional illumination through a single lens.
- Potential for Interior Lighting: Optical transmission materials may open new possibilities for laser lighting within the car's interior.
- Low Divergence: Laser lights maintain a low divergence, providing direct and focused lighting.
- Similar Advantages to LED Lights: Quick response, less lumen depreciation, small size, low energy consumption, long life, high luminosity, and low divergence.
5. Disadvantages of Laser Headlights:
- High Cost: Laser headlights are more expensive than LED lights, hindering widespread adoption.
- Monochromatic Emission: Like LEDs, laser diodes emit monochromatic light, requiring synthesis for white light generation.
6. Laser Headlights vs. LED Headlights:
- Lighting Distance: Laser headlights have a range of 600m, twice that of traditional LED headlights (300m).
- Size: Laser lights are significantly smaller (10 microns) compared to LEDs, allowing for more design flexibility.
- Light Intensity: Laser lights have higher intensity (170 lumens per watt) compared to traditional LEDs (100 lumens).
- Light Source Directionality: Laser headlights offer more directional lighting than LEDs.
In conclusion, laser headlights represent a significant leap in automotive lighting technology, providing improved performance in terms of lighting distance, size, intensity, and light source directionality. However, challenges such as high costs need to be addressed for broader adoption. Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions or if there's additional information you'd like to explore.
