A system and method for controlling the energy of light pulses for use with a projection optics system is provided. The system includes a light source configured to emit light pulses, a transmission element configured to transmit a first part and a second part of an active light pulse, the first part being transmitted to the projection optics system, and a feedback system including a detector configured to receive the second part of the active light pulse and determine a total measure of energy of the active light pulse, and a control unit configured to receive the total measure of energy and in response control an amplitude of a subsequent light pulse. In some implementations, the control unit may additionally set a threshold value for communication to a comparator to compare against the total measure of energy and in response control the width of the active light pulse.

A laser diode arrangement is provided that comprises a laser diode, a driver (EPS) to provide an AC-electric power to the laser diode, a first feedback component (FB1) and a second feedback component (FB2). The first feedback component (FB1) is configured to sense an optical output of the laser diode and comprises an optical power control module (OPCM) to control a first waveform characteristic of the AC-electric power to maintain the sensed optical output (PM) close to a first desired value (PD). The second feedback component (FB2) is configured to estimate a temperature (TEST) of the laser diode by sensing a voltage-current characteristic of the laser diode and comprises a temperature control module (TCM) that is configured to control a second waveform characteristic of the AC-electric power, different from the first waveform characteristic to maintain the estimated temperature (TEST) close to a second desired value (TOPT).

A laser circuit has a current source for delivering current to a laser device. A pulse width modulation laser drive current is used, and the amplitude and duty cycle of the laser drive current is set in dependence on an estimated junction temperature. In this way efficiency may be kept high for different operating temperatures and a desired optical output power.

A light source control device, includes circuitry to: apply a threshold current, a first emission current, and a first correction current to a light source to drive the light source to emit light to form a first pixel, and apply the threshold current, a second emission current, and a second correction current to the light source to drive the light source to emit light to form a second pixel, wherein the circuitry calculates a value of the second correction current by multiplying a value of the first correction current by a ratio of a value of the second emission current to a value of the first emission current, the value of the second emission current being greater than the value of the first emission current.

A sensor system can comprise a light source generating a light pulse that is collimated, and a plurality of optical elements. Each of the plurality of optical elements is configured to rotate independently about an axis that is substantially common, and the plurality of optical elements operate to collectively direct the light pulse to one or more objects in an angle of view of the sensor system. Furthermore, the sensor system can comprise a detector configured to receive, via the plurality of optical elements, at least a portion of photon energy of the light pulse that is reflected back from the one or more objects in the angle of view of the sensor system, and convert the received photon energy into at least one electrical signal.

A laser device suppresses the variation of each time-lag so that a distortion of a combined laser output is suppressed. The laser device includes electric current control elements Q1, Q2 connected in series to a laser diode unit corresponding to respective laser diode units LD1, LD2, an electric current control circuit 11 that controls an electric current flow in the laser diode unit by adding a voltage to a control terminal of the electric current control element to turn on the electric current control element, and voltage adjustment circuits 12a, 12b corresponding to the laser diode unit adjusts, individually, every laser diode unit and the voltage that is added to the control terminal of the electric current control element when the laser diode is off.

A lighting device provides a lighting unit for emitting useful light and a sensor. The unit includes a laser diode for emitting pump radiation and a phosphor element, which during operation is irradiated by the laser diode and thereby excited and serves for converting the pump radiation into conversion light, which conversion light at least proportionally forms the useful light. The sensor monitors the pump radiation conversion and at the same time detects a conversion light intensity, and is arranged with respect to the phosphor element of the unit so that a portion of the useful light and a measurement portion of the conversion light is incident on the sensor. The lighting device operates so that the phosphor element at least at times is irradiated in a pulsed manner and thereby excited so that between two pulses the conversion light intensity detected by the sensor decreases by at least 10%.

A tunable laser is provided, including a first reflector, a second reflector, a phase adjustment area, a gain area, a first detector, a second detector, and a controller. The phase adjustment area is located between the first reflector and the gain area, the gain area is located between the phase adjustment area and the second reflector, a reflectivity of the first reflector is adjustable, and a reflectivity of the second reflector is adjustable. The first detector is configured to convert an optical signal of the first reflector into a first electrical signal. The second detector is configured to convert an optical signal of the second reflector into a second electrical signal. The controller is configured to adjust at least one of the reflectivity of the first reflector or the reflectivity of the second reflector based on the first electrical signal and the second electrical signal.

A sensor system can comprise a light source generating a light pulse that is collimated, and a plurality of optical elements. Each of the plurality of optical elements is configured to rotate independently about an axis that is substantially common, and the plurality of optical elements operate to collectively direct the light pulse to one or more objects in an angle of view of the sensor system. Furthermore, the sensor system can comprise a detector configured to receive, via the plurality of optical elements, at least a portion of photon energy of the light pulse that is reflected back from the one or more objects in the angle of view of the sensor system, and convert the received photon energy into at least one electrical signal.

A pulse-width modulation (PWM) light source drive for driving a light source is provided that includes a microcontroller, a modulation element, a voltage regulator, and a light detector. The microcontroller is configured to generate a PWM signal and an inverse PWM signal. The modulation element is configured to generate a drive signal based on the PWM signal. The light source is configured to be driven by the drive signal. The voltage regulator is configured to generate an output drive voltage for the light source. The light detector is configured to detect light energy emitted by the light source, to generate an optical power feedback signal based on the detected light energy, and to provide the optical power feedback signal to the voltage regulator during a laser-on driving interval. The microcontroller is configured to provide the inverse PWM signal to the voltage regulator during a laser-off driving interval. The voltage regulator is configured to adjust the output drive voltage based on the optical power feedback signal during the laser-on driving interval and based on the inverse PWM signal during the laser-off driving interval.