Illumination
IPS has provided both Superluminescent Diodes (SLDs) and Lasers for numerous systems and applications. For these applications it is generally important to “de-speckle” the laser if used for illumination. This can be accomplished by using a diffuser or a vibrating ground glass plate into the beam path to scramble the coherence of the beam.
SLDs are typically utilized for this application due to their low coherence and superior beam quality properties in comparison to light emitting diodes; making them “high brightness” sources that are easy to focus and collimate.
Wavelength stability is generally not a property that is needed for this application space.
Finally, beam-shaped sources, such as the stub laser can be utilized to tailor the area of uniform illumination.
