Laser drivers and methods are disclosed including a pulse input for receiving one or more logical pulse control signals, a delay circuit, a main pulse output, and a precharge pulse output for efficiently driving a laser with reduced time delay to desired optical output and reduced power consumption during between optical outputs.

Disclosed herein is a method of optical pulse emission including three phases. During a first phase, a capacitor is charged from a supply voltage node. During a second phase, a voltage stored on the capacitor is boosted, and then the capacitor is at least partially discharged through a light emitting device. During a third phase, the capacitor is further discharged by bypassing the light emitting device. The third phase may begin prior to an end of the second phase.

A light emitting device includes a wiring substrate, a light emitting element array that includes a first side surface and a second side surface facing each other, and a third side surface and a fourth side surface connecting the first side surface and the second side surface to each other and facing each other, the light emitting element array being provided on the wiring substrate, a driving element that is provided on the wiring substrate on the first side surface side and drives the light emitting element array, a first circuit element and a second circuit element that are provided on the wiring substrate on the second side surface side to be arranged in a direction along the second side surface, and a wiring member that is provided on the third side surface side and the fourth side surface side and extends from a top electrode of the light emitting element array toward an outside of the light emitting element array.

A layered pulse generator for a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (“VCSEL”) driver is disclosed consisting of three elements: a low-speed pulse generator, a high-speed pulse generator, and a pulse generator selector, all of which are on-chip with the VCSEL driver. By providing these elements on-chip, overall system power and complexity are reduced while allowing for significantly higher pulse train frequencies compared with known systems. The high-speed pulse generator is capable of generating pulses faster and with higher resolution than that of the low-speed pulse generator. The high-speed pulse generator uses multiple clock outputs, phase shifted, and synthesized into a single pulse waveform capable of wide-ranging frequencies, duty cycles and pulse counts.

A semiconductor radiation source includes at least one semiconductor chip that generates radiation; and at least one capacitor body, wherein the semiconductor chip and the capacitor body are stacked on top of each other, the semiconductor chip directly electrically connects in a planar manner to the capacitor body, the semiconductor chip is a ridge waveguide laser, and a ridge waveguide of the semiconductor chip is arranged on a side of the semiconductor chip facing away from the capacitor body.

Laser driver designs that aim to reduce or eliminate the problem of fault laser firing are disclosed. Various laser driver designs presented herein are based on providing a current dissipation path that is configured to start providing a resistance for dissipating at least a portion, but preferably substantially all, of the negative current from the laser diode. Dissipating at least a portion of the negative current may decrease the unintentional increase of the voltage at the input to the laser diode and, therefore, reduce the likelihood that fault laser firing will occur. A control logic may be used to control the timing of when the current dissipation path is activated (i.e., provides the resistance to dissipate the negative current from the laser diode) and when it is deactivated.

A near-eye display device comprises a pupil-expansion optic, a laser, a drive circuit coupled operatively to the first and second lasers, a spatial light modulator (SLM), and a computer. The SLM has a matrix of electronically controllable pixel elements and is configured to receive emission from the laser and to direct the emission in spatially modulated form to the pupil-expansion optic. Coupled operatively to the drive circuit and to the SLM, the computer is configured to parse a digital image, trigger the emission from the laser by causing the drive circuit to drive a periodic current through a gain structure of the laser, and control the matrix of pixel elements such that the spatially modulated form of the emission projects an optical image corresponding to the digital image, wherein the periodic current includes plural cycles of modulation driven through the gain structure while the optical image is projected.

A light-emitting device includes a light diffusing member that diffuses light emitted from a light source so that an object to be measured is irradiated with the light; and a holding unit that is provided on plural wires connected to the light source and holds the light diffusing member.

A light-emitting device includes a laser unit; and a first capacitive element and a second capacitive element that supply a driving electric current to the laser unit; wherein the first capacitive element has smaller equivalent series inductance than the second capacitive element, and the second capacitive element has a larger capacity and a smaller mount area than the first capacitive element.

A semiconductor light emitter includes a substrate, a semiconductor multilayer structure including a light emission unit that emits light in an oblique direction with respect to the substrate, a base on which the substrate is disposed, a holding member that holds the substrate at an angle set in advance with respect to the base, a temperature control unit disposed parallel to the substrate to adjust a temperature of the substrate, and a shaping optical system held against the substrate to shape a luminous flux emitted from the semiconductor multilayer structure.