Alvin Tse, Vice President of Sales of Greater China & Japan, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors is a leading manufacturer of infrared sensing components in the industry. With its broad portfolio including Infrared-LEDs (IREDs), Edge-Emitting Lasers (EEL) and VCSELs the company addresses applications like advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) like automotive LiDAR or driver monitoring, biometrics and 3D Sensing for consumer electronics as well as industrial automation and many more. . LEDinside / TrendForce had the honor to interview Alvin Tse, Vice President of Sales of Greater China & Japan, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, who kindly shared years of infrared sensing experience with professional interpretation and analysis of product application market trends. Moreover, the comprehensive solutions for each application are provided by OSRAM Opto Semiconductors.

Automotive LiDAR Market

High-end traditional vehicles and new energy vehicles are mostly equipped with ADAS. In addition, because LiDAR is considered to be the necessary sensor to reach the autonomous vehicle L4 and L5, car makers have adopted LiDAR in advance to create database and increase accuracy.

Alvin further indicated that automotive LiDAR products mainly use Edge-Emitting Lasers to meet the requirements of long-distance sensing and precision. With the requirement of long-distance sensing, OSRAM has successfully launched single-channel (120W) and four-channel (480W) LiDAR laser products at this stage; the precision is expressed by Temperature Shift. LiDAR laser products have been successfully introduced to customers for design, and it is expected that 2021 will usher in double growth of sales performance.

OSRAM is pleased to see that VCSEL will be used in short-range sensing, including the automotive LiDAR market. Alvin specifically indicated that both Edge-Emitting Lasers and VCSEL for automotive LiDAR will actively pass automotive grade certification to shorten the time for customer introduction and make it more convenient for use. For the product design of LiDAR customers, OSRAM has also launched Laser Bare Die products to solve product space limitation.

Industrial Automation, Smart Cities, Robots

At this stage, edge-emitting lasers have been successfully used in industrial LiDAR. With increasing VCSEL product efficiency and customers’ requirements on optical design or product cost performance, OSRAM has also released 10W VCSEL products, in response to the short-sensing distance, such as industrial LiDAR. In addition, in response to industrial field, compared with infrared LED products, VCSEL can provide a sensing distance of more than 200 meters, which can be used in the field of unmanned factory monitoring or smart city security surveillance market.

Particularly, although radar has been used in drone market, in response to transmission speed and sensing distance requirements, LiDARs are also be applied in the drone market. Alvin specifically mentioned the sweeping robot. The LiDAR sweeping robot can achieve high-precision positioning with simultaneous positioning and map construction (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping, SLAM). LiDAR technology can respond immediately in any environment through 360-degree scanning, and it has automatic return to home (automatic recharge) function. Although the cost of LiDAR solution is relatively high at this stage, it is expected that the large-scale introduction will increase economies of scale and market demand.

Finally, Alvin indicated that in response to many market needs, OSRAM is the only manufacturer who has the most comprehensive infrared sensing solutions – including all three mayor lighting technologies with IREDs, EELs and VCSELs - in the industry to provide customers. It is also believed that 2021 will be a year when the market demand of infrared sensing market will grow again!

Author: Joanne / TrendForce

2021 Infrared Sensing Market Trend- 3D Sensing, LiDAR, SWIR LED
Release: 01 January 2021
Format: PDF
Language: Traditional Chinese / English
Page: 175