Super Luminescent LEDs

PTI’s new Super Luminescent LED module is an ideal light source for Optical Coherence Tomograpy (OCT), Optical Sensors, Fiber Optic Gyros and Atomic Force Microscopy. A variety of wavelengths, spectral widths and power levels are available. Wavelengths span from 680nm to 1610nm with powers from 1mW to 60mW. This new line of lightources is based on PTI’s industry proven laser IQ diode modules. Since the IQ (Instrument Quality) laser modules were designed for stability and accuracy, they are ideal host for SLEDs. To promote stability of wavelength and output, our IQ modules have always incorporated a precision current source and a PID temperature control loop. The new, improved IQ takes this one step further, providing even more stability via several optical and mechanical improvements. In fact, the new IQ can now operate at a much wider temperature range. A SLED is an edge-emitting light source. One of the exceptional qualities of the SLED is its high output power and low beam divergence, similar to a laser diode, but with a broad emission spectrum and low coherence, similar to a LED. SLEDs are similar in geometry to lasers but have no built-in optical feedback mechanism required by laser diodes. SLEDs have a much higher gain, higher current density and stronger non-uniformity of photons and carrier density distribution inside the active region. SLEDs are essentially highly optimized LEDs. While SLEDs operate like LEDs at low current levels, their output power increases superlinearly at high currents.