Integrated light source using a laser diode

Abstract

The embodiments described herein provide a device and method for an integrated white colored electromagnetic radiation source using a combination of laser diode excitation sources based on gallium and nitrogen containing materials and light emitting source based on phosphor materials. A violet, blue, or other wavelength laser diode source based on gallium and nitrogen materials may be closely integrated with phosphor materials, such as yellow phosphors, to form a compact, high-brightness, and highly-efficient, white light source.

1 - 38 . (canceled) 
     
     
         39 . A packaged integrated white light source, comprising:
 a package member configured with a base member;   a laser diode device comprising a gallium and nitrogen containing material and configured as an excitation source, the laser diode device comprising a p-electrode and an n-electrode;   a phosphor member configured as a wavelength converter and an emitter;   a common support member disposed on an upper surface of the base member, the common support member configured to support the laser diode device and the phosphor member, the common support member including an angled portion having an upper surface for supporting the laser diode device and a planar portion having an upper surface for supporting the phosphor member, wherein the upper surface of the angled portion is at an obtuse angle relative to the upper surface of the planar portion, and the upper surface of the planar portion is elevated relative to the upper surface of the base member;   a heat sink thermally coupled to the common support member, the common support member configured to transport thermal energy from the laser diode device and the phosphor member to the heat sink;   a first electrical connection configured from the p-electrode of the laser diode device to a first internal feedthrough on the package member;   a second electrical connection configured from the n-electrode of the laser diode device to a second internal feedthrough on the package member;   a submount member configured with the laser diode device to form a chip on submount structure, the submount member extending between the gallium and nitrogen containing material of the laser diode device and the angled portion of the common support member;   an output facet configured on the laser diode device to output a laser beam of electromagnetic radiation from the output facet; the laser beam being selected from a violet and/or a blue emission with a first wavelength ranging from 400 nm to 485 nm, the laser beam being characterized by a wavelength range, a spectral width, a power, and a spatial configuration:   a free space, between the output facet and the phosphor member, with a non-guided characteristic capable of transmitting the laser beam from the laser diode device to the phosphor member; wherein the laser beam forms an excitation spot on a spatial region of the phosphor member; a geometrical shape and a diameter dimension characterizing the excitation spot on the phosphor member;   an off-normal angle of incidence configured between the laser beam and the excitation surface of the phosphor member, the phosphor member being configured to convert at least a fraction of the electromagnetic radiation in the laser beam with a first wavelength to a second wavelength that is longer than the first wavelength;   a reflective mode characterizing the phosphor member such that when the laser beam is incident on the excitation surface of the phosphor member a white light is emitted from the excitation surface of the phosphor member, the white light emission being comprised of a mixture of wavelengths characterized by at least the second wavelength from the phosphor member;   first and second external leads provided on the package, the first internal feedthrough and the second internal feedthrough being configured with an electrical coupling to the first and second external leads, respectively;   a lid member configured on the package member such that the lid member forms a seal around a white light source;   an electrical coupling configured with the first and second external leads to connect to a power source to supply power to the laser diode device to emit the laser beam incident on the phosphor member; and   a form factor characterizing the integrated white light source, the form factor having a length, a width, and a height dimension.   
     
     
         40 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , wherein the package member is a surface mount device (SMD) package and wherein the base member is configured from a base of the SMD package. 
     
     
         41 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , wherein the common support member comprises metal; and the submount member comprises at least one of SiC, BeO, diamond, or ceramic; and wherein the submount includes bond pads thereon, at least one of the bond pads electrically coupling the p-electrode of the laser diode device with the first internal feedthrough, and at least another one of the bond pads electrically coupling the n-electrode of the laser diode device with the second internal feedthrough. 
     
     
         42 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , wherein the phosphor member is coupled directly to the common support member. 
     
     
         43 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , wherein the laser diode device is configured with a multi-stripe emitter that is comprised of 2 or more adjacent laser diode stripes configured to generate 2 or more laser beams, and wherein the 2 or more laser beams provide the excitation spot on the phosphor member. 
     
     
         44 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , wherein the laser diode device is comprised of 2 laser diodes, 3 laser diodes, or 4 laser diodes to generate 2 laser beams, 3 laser beams, or 4 laser beams, respectively; and wherein the multiple laser beams form excitation spots on the phosphor member that overlap to create the excitation spot on the phosphor member, and wherein the multiple laser diodes are characterized by multiple blue wavelengths in the 440 nm to 460 nm range; and wherein a first laser diode of the multiple laser diodes has a first emission band of the multiple blue wavelengths, a second laser diode of the multiple laser diodes has a second emission band of the multiple blue wavelengths, and the first emission band does not entirely overlap the second emission band. 
     
     
         45 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , wherein the laser diode device is characterized by the first blue wavelength in the range of 425 nm to 480 nm, the second wavelength from the phosphor member comprises a yellow wavelength range, and wherein the white light emission is comprised of the first wavelength and the second wavelength. 
     
     
         46 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , further comprising at least one of or a combination of a spectral filter, a spatial filter, an angular filter, or a reflector configured to change an efficiency of the white light source by increasing the amount of useful white light exiting a primary emission surface of the phosphor member, and wherein the spectral filter, the spatial filter, the angular filter, or the reflector are formed from a coating material on a surface of the phosphor member, a sheet material applied to a surface of the phosphor member, or positioning an additional element adjacent to the phosphor member. 
     
     
         47 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , further comprising at least one or a combination of a passive safety feature with a beam dump configured to absorb the laser beam and an active safety feature with an integrated photodiode configured to turn the laser diode device off when a change in signal is sensed. 
     
     
         48 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , wherein the off-normal angle of incidence between the laser beam and the excitation surface of the phosphor member is comprised of an incidence angle with respect to a fast-axis and is characterized by angle ranging between 25 degrees and 40 degrees. 
     
     
         49 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , wherein the height is characterized by a dimension of less than 15 mm. 
     
     
         50 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , wherein the length and width are characterized by a dimension of less than 15 mm. 
     
     
         51 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , further comprising a re-imaging optic for reflecting, back to the phosphor member, portions of the laser beam with the first wavelength that are reflected from the excitation surface of the phosphor member. 
     
     
         52 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , wherein the package member is characterized by a sealing selected from an open environment sealing, an environmental sealing, or a hermetic sealing. 
     
     
         53 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , wherein the package member is selected from a can type, a flat package type, a surface mount type, a butterfly type, a C-mount type, a Q-mount type, a package adapted from an LED package type, or a flash package. 
     
     
         54 . The integrated white light source of  claim 39 , further comprising an optic coupled to the common support member and configured to project the white light into a beam shape; and wherein the optic is comprised of a reflector or a lens. 
     
     
         55 . A packaged integrated white light source, comprising:
 a package member configured with a base member;   a laser diode device comprising a gallium and nitrogen containing material and configured as an excitation source, the laser diode device comprising a p-electrode and an n-electrode;   a phosphor member configured as a wavelength converter and an emitter;   at least one common support member disposed on an upper surface of the base member, the common support member configured to support the laser diode device and the phosphor member, the at least one common support member including an angled portion having an upper surface for supporting the laser diode device and a planar portion having an upper surface for supporting the phosphor member, wherein the upper surface of the angled portion is at an obtuse angle relative to the upper surface of the planar portion, and the upper surface of the planar portion is elevated relative to the upper surface of the base member;   a heat sink thermally coupled to the at least one common support member, the at least one common support member configured to transport thermal energy from the laser diode device and the phosphor member on the common support member to the heat sink;   a submount member extending between the gallium and nitrogen containing material of the laser diode device and the angled portion of the at least one common support member;   an output facet configured on the laser diode device to output a laser beam of electromagnetic radiation from the output facet, the laser beam being selected from a violet and/or a blue emission with a first wavelength ranging from 400 nm to 485 nm, the laser beam being characterized by a wavelength range, a spectral width, a power, and a spatial configuration;   a free space, comprising a spatial region, between the output facet and the phosphor member with a non-guided characteristic capable of transmitting the laser beam from the laser diode device to the phosphor member, the phosphor member being configured to convert at least a fraction of the electromagnetic radiation in the laser beam with a first wavelength to a second wavelength that is longer than the first wavelength;   an off-normal angle of incidence configured between the laser beam and an emission surface of the phosphor member; and the phosphor member configured to emit a primary white light emission, the primary white light emission being comprised of a mixture of wavelengths characterized by at least the second wavelength from the phosphor member;   a form factor characterizing the integrated white light source, the form factor having a length, a width, and a height dimension.   
     
     
         56 . A packaged integrated white light source, comprising:
 a package member configured with a base member;   a laser diode device comprising a gallium and nitrogen containing material and configured as an excitation source;   a phosphor member configured as a wavelength converter and an emitter;   a common support member disposed on an upper surface of the base member, the common support member configured to support the laser diode device and the phosphor member, the common support member including an angled portion having an upper surface for supporting the laser diode device and a planar portion having an upper surface for supporting the phosphor member, wherein the upper surface of the angled portion is at an obtuse angle relative to the upper surface of the planar portion, and the upper surface of the planar portion is elevated relative to the upper surface of the base member;   wherein the package is a surface mount device (SMD) package and wherein the common support member is configured from the base member;   an output facet configured on the laser diode device to output a laser beam of electromagnetic radiation from the output facet, the laser beam being selected from a violet and/or a blue emission with a first wavelength ranging from 400 nm to 485 nm, the laser beam being characterized by a wavelength range, a spectral width, a power, and a spatial configuration:   a free space between the output facet and the phosphor member with a non-guided characteristic capable of transmitting the laser beam from the laser diode device to the phosphor member; wherein the laser beam forms an excitation spot on a spatial region of the phosphor member; a geometrical shape and a diameter dimension characterizing the excitation spot on the phosphor member;   the phosphor member being configured to convert at least a fraction of the electromagnetic radiation in the laser beam with a first wavelength to a second wavelength that is longer than the first wavelength;   a reflective mode characterizing the phosphor member such that the laser beam is incident on an excitation surface of the phosphor member;   a form factor characterizing the integrated white light source, the form factor having a length, a width, and a height dimension, and   a white light emitted from the excitation surface of the phosphor member, whereupon the white light emission being comprised of a mixture of wavelengths characterized by at least the second wavelength from the phosphor member.   
     
     
         57 . The packaged integrated white light source of  claim 56 , wherein the laser diode device is characterized by the blue emission with the first wavelength in a range of 425 nm to 480 nm, the second wavelength from the phosphor member is characterized by a yellow emission, and the white light emission is comprised of the first wavelength and the second wavelength. 
     
     
         58 . The packaged integrated white light source of  claim 56 , wherein the laser diode device is comprised of 2 laser diodes, 3 laser diodes, or 4 laser diodes to generate 2 laser beams, 3 laser beams, or 4 laser beams, respectively; and wherein the multiple laser beams form the excitation spot on the phosphor member.