In just the last year, interest in laser light sources is starting to gain momentum in three areas; 1) laser automotive headlights, 2) laser cinema projection, and 3) laser light bulbs. In 2015, several high-end European automotive manufacturers have introduced automobiles which incorporated laser headlights. By the end of 2015, there were already 18 movie theaters worldwide which have incorporated laser illuminated projection systems. And finally in 2015, the University of California at Santa Barbara was awarded a $2.37M grant from the Department of Energy to develop a low-cost, high-efficiency laser light bulb. Conducting the research is Dr. Shuji Nakamura, one of the co-inventors of the blue LED, the device that is principally responsible for all the LED lighting we have today, the device which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2014.
While it’s clear that the laser is starting to be looked at seriously as a light source, what is really not so clear to many is why? Aren’t LED’s really pretty good, and what can the laser offer that LEDs and other light sources can’t? When we look for the answer to that question, we find that there is not just one answer, but many. In fact the real motivation to transition to lasers from other light sources seems to vary with the application. Let’s look at the three applications above and see what the motivation to use lasers is.
Here are the applications and logic behind them.... (CLICK here for the full blog by Allen Nogee on the Strategies Unlimited website).
Allen Nogee | President, Laser Markets Research
Allen Nogee has over 30 years' experience in the electronics and technology industry including almost 20 years in technology market research. He has held design-engineering positions at MCI Communications, GTE, and General Electric, and senior research positions at In-Stat, NPD Group, and Strategies Unlimited.
Nogee has become a well-known and respected analyst in the area of lasers and laser applications, with his research and forecasts appearing in publications such as Laser Focus World, Industrial Laser Solutions, Optics.org, and Laser Institute of America. He has also been invited to speak at conferences such as the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO), Laser Focus World's Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar, the European Photonics Industry Consortium Executive Laser Meeting, and SPIE Photonics West.
Nogee has a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and a Master's of Business Administration from Arizona State University.