VCSEL arrays with planar electrical contacts readily adaptable for surface mounting are provided. Monolithic VCSEL arrays are configured in array patterns on two and three-dimensional surfaces for configuring optical illuminator modules. Illuminator modules are easily expandable by increasing the ar
VCSEL arrays with planar electrical contacts readily adaptable for surface mounting are provided. Monolithic VCSEL arrays are configured in array patterns on two and three-dimensional surfaces for configuring optical illuminator modules. Illuminator modules are easily expandable by increasing the array size or by modularly arranging more arrays with or without a transparent substrate, in different shapes by tiling array modules monolithically on a common substrate, or by tiling small modules. The surface mountable illuminator modules are easily assembled on a thermally conductive surface that may be air or liquid cooled for efficient heat dissipation. Array modules may be integrated with other electronic circuits such as current drivers, sensors, controllers, processors, etc. on a common platform, for example, a single or multiple layer printed circuit boards (PCB) to assemble illumination systems for different applications including a gesture recognition apparatus and a battery operated portable illuminator devices.
대표청구항▼
1. A portable illuminator comprising: a cylindrical enclosure, said cylindrical enclosure further including;an optical illuminator located on one end of the cylindrical enclosure, wherein the optical illuminator includes a plurality of VCSEL arrays mounted on an outer surface of a hemispherical memb
1. A portable illuminator comprising: a cylindrical enclosure, said cylindrical enclosure further including;an optical illuminator located on one end of the cylindrical enclosure, wherein the optical illuminator includes a plurality of VCSEL arrays mounted on an outer surface of a hemispherical member, said VCSEL arrays are electrically connected to emit light collectively;a transparent protective surface disposed on the outer surface of the hemispherical member for protecting the plurality of VCSEL arrays, wherein said protective surface further includes a diffuser surface for directing the emission beam from the plurality of VCSEL arrays into a uniform illumination pattern;a pump, said pump connected with a cooling tube to a liquid coolant source for providing a liquid coolant at high pressure, to an inner surface of the hemispherical member that is in physical and thermal contact with the plurality of VCSEL arrays located on the outer surface of the hemispherical member;a printed circuit board including one or more electronic circuits electrically connected to the plurality of VCSEL arrays;a battery chamber located at an opposite end from the hemispherical member for providing portable power source to operate the portable illuminator. 2. The portable illuminator as in claim 1, wherein each one of the plurality of VCSEL arrays further include: at least one array comprising a plurality of VCSELs, wherein all the VCSELs are configured to emit light in a direction perpendicular to an emission surface of the array, said emission surface further including a plurality of emission windows, each emission window substantially aligned with a respective VCSEL of said array, said array further including a first electrical contact located on the emission surface and a second electrical contact located on an opposing non-emission surface of the array, respectively;a trench located on the non-emission surface of the array, said trench for electrically isolating the array from an electrical contact region located on the non-emission surface;an electrically conducting path for providing electrical connectivity between the first electrical contact located on the emission surface and the contact region on the non-emission surface co-planar with the second electric contact, so as to facilitate surface mounting of the illuminator module; anda transparent carrier substrate disposed on the emission surface, said carrier substrate further including an electrical contact layer, wherein the electrical contact layer further includes a second plurality of windows substantially matching with the plurality of emission windows on the emission surface of the at least one array, such that the emission is directed out of the carrier substrate from a surface distal to the array module. 3. The portable illuminator as in claim 1, wherein the diffuser comprises thin sheets of optical diffuser. 4. The portable illuminator as in claim 1, wherein the one or more electronic circuit includes a current driver, an image sensor, a camera, a controller, and a processor or a combination thereof. 5. An optical illuminator comprising: a three dimensional illuminator head having a thermally conductive surface;a plurality of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSEL) arrays mounted in thermal contact with the illuminator head, such that said plurality of VCSEL arrays cover the thermally conductive surface; andone or more electronic circuits electrically connected to the plurality of VCSEL arrays to emit light collectively in a direction that is away from the thermally conductive surface. 6. The optical illuminator as in claim 5, wherein geometric shape of the illuminator head is one selected from the group consisting of a sphere, a hemisphere, a parallelepiped, a cone, and a pyramid. 7. The optical illuminator as in claim 5, wherein the plurality of VCSEL arrays covers the thermally conductive surface completely so as to provide illumination along the surface of the illumination head. 8. The optical illuminator as in claim 5, wherein the plurality of VCSEL arrays covers the thermally conductive surface in a pre-determined geometrical pattern so as to provide a desired illumination pattern. 9. The optical illuminator as in claim 8, wherein different sections of the geometrical pattern are illuminated in a pre-determined timing sequence. 10. The optical illuminator as in claim 5 further including a heat dissipation device in physical contact with the illuminator head, wherein the heat dissipation device is cooled using a circulating fluid. 11. The optical illuminator as in claim 5, wherein the illuminator head is a hollow member comprising a geometric shape that is one selected from the group consisting of a sphere, a hemisphere, a parallelepiped, a cone, and a pyramid, and wherein the thermally conductive surface is the outer surface of the illuminator head. 12. The optical illuminator as in claim 11, further including a heat dissipation device, such that the heat dissipation device located in physical contact with the hollow region cools the inner surface of the illuminator head. 13. The optical illuminator as in claim 12, wherein the heat dissipation device includes a cooling tube in physical contact with the inner surface of the illuminator head in one or more places, said cooling tube is connected to a circulating cooling fluid source through a pump for pumping a cooling fluid at high pressure in the cooling tubes to cool the thermally conductive surface. 14. The optical illuminator as in claim 5, wherein, each one of the plurality of VCSEL arrays is monolithic, said monolithic array further including: a plurality of VCSELs emitting light collectively in a direction perpendicular to an emission surface of the array that comprises a plurality of emission windows in a first contiguous metallized layer located on the emission surface of the array, each emission window being substantially aligned with a respective VCSEL of said array, wherein said first metallized layer in electrical contact with the VCSELs provides a common first electrical contact, and a second metallized layer in electrical contact with the VCSELs and located on an opposing non-emission surface provides a common second electrical contact, respectively, to the at least one array;a trench located on the non-emission surface of the array, said trench electrically isolating the second electrical contact of the array from an electrical contact region located on the non-emission surface; andan electrically conducting path connecting the first electrical contact located on the emission surface to the electrical contact region located on the non-emission surface, such that the first electrical contact and the second electric contact are coplanar and accessible on the non-emission surface for surface mounting. 15. The optical illuminator as in claim 5, wherein the plurality of VCSEL arrays is supported on one or more thermally conducting submount to facilitate the thermal contact between said plurality of VCSEL arrays and the illuminator head. 16. The optical illuminator as in claim 5 further including an encapsulation disposed over the plurality of VCSEL arrays, said encapsulation having optional optical device that is one selected from the group consisting of a protective transparent window, a lens, a lens array, a diffuser, and a combination thereof. 17. The optical illuminator as in claim 5, wherein each one of the plurality of VCSEL arrays further includes: a plurality of monolithically constructed VCSELs that emit light in a direction perpendicular to an emission surface of the array chip, said emission surface further including a plurality of emission windows, each emission window substantially aligned with a respective VCSEL of said array, said array further including a first electrical contact located on the emission surface and a second electrical contact located on an opposing non-emission surface of the array, respectively;a trench located on the non-emission surface of the array, said trench for electrically isolating the array from an electrical contact region located on the non-emission surface;an electrically conducting path for providing electrical connectivity between the first electrical contact located on the emission surface and the contact region on the non-emission surface co-planar with the second electric contact, so as to facilitate surface mounting of the illuminator module; anda transparent carrier substrate disposed on the emission surface, said carrier substrate further including an electrical contact layer, wherein the electrical contact layer further includes a second plurality of windows substantially matching with the plurality of emission windows on the emission surface of the at least one array, such that the emission is directed out of the carrier substrate from a surface distal to the array module. 18. The optical illuminator as in claim 5, wherein the one or more electronic circuits include a current driver, a controller and a processor such that the optical illuminator is configured to function as a high intensity three dimensional continuous wave (CW), quasi-continuous wave (QCW) or a pulsed lighting source. 19. The optical illuminator as in claim 5, wherein the one or more electronic circuit includes a current driver, a controller, and a processor or a combination thereof. 20. The optical illuminator as in claim 19 further including an image sensor and a camera, such that the optical illuminator is configured to function as a three dimensional motion sensor or gesture recognition apparatus.
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이 특허를 인용한 특허 (3)
Engelhardt, Michel; Cherian-Brutus, Shushanna Rebecca, Air agitator assemblies.
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