3D sensing welcomes a new breaking point, VCSEL becomes one of the keys

VCSEL, that is, vertical cavity surface emitting laser, emits the laser perpendicular to the top surface, so it is different from the edge emitting laser.

From a certain level, VCSEL can be understood as a semiconductor chip or as an optoelectronic component. Driven by the demand for high-end smart phone 3D sensing, lidar and optical fiber transmission, VCSEL has advantages in characteristics such as starting current, beam angle and shape, and its growth rate is particularly obvious.

According to TrendForce's Optoelectronics Research Office, the increase in the amount of 3D sensing equipment for high-end smartphones is expected to drive the total output value of 3D sensing VCSELs to 1.404 billion U.S. dollars. The total output value of VCSELs is expected to increase to 18.42 U.S. dollars in 2021, with an annual growth rate. Up to 53%.

It is precisely because of the rapid deployment of the smart phone camp led by Apple's iPhone X at that time, that the entire industry ecosystem has matured rapidly and 3D sensing has been extended to more applications.

Ji Xiang, senior sales director of Lumentum China, said that before 2017, 3D sensing was mainly used in game consoles and laptops. But after 2017, the 3D sensing industry has undergone major changes. In the market areas of smart phones, face payment, security monitoring, and robots, 3D sensing has achieved rapid development. 2020 will be another important time node. The original 3D sensing market will continue to grow, but it will focus on augmented reality (AR) consumer electronics products, as well as L3/L4/L5 self-driving passenger cars and laser sharing taxis. With the application of radar products, 3D sensing will usher in a new explosive point.

As one of the main suppliers of 3D sensing, Lumentum has benefited from the rapid growth of the 3D sensing market and this business has become Lumentum's second largest business segment after optical communications.

From the indoor game console launched by Microsoft in 2010, to the personal computer in 2015, and to the epoch-making 3D sensing mobile phone application after 2017, there are laser products and technologies provided by Lumentum.

Ji Xiang, senior sales director of Lumentum China, said in an interview with Jiwei.com that Lumentum provides leading optical products in the field of 3D sensing, currently mainly focusing on various lasers, such as VCSEL, EEL, fiber laser and FMCW. At present, the company has close cooperation with various customers, deploys short, medium and long-term product development, and provides high-reliability VCSEL/EEL products to meet the needs of the 3D sensing market. The product line covers consumer, automotive and industrial applications. .

Ji Xiang further stated that Lumentum mainly integrates 25 years of high-reliability design on VCSELs and 10 years of accumulation in 3D sensing.

Regarding the lidar market, Lumentum has conducted in-depth research. From the lower power Automotive In-cabin application to the lidar system up to 300m, the company has a complete product line and Roadmap to meet the needs of OEM factories.

According to Lumentum’s financial report in early November last year, Lumentum’s sales in the latest quarter were US$452 million, a significant increase compared to the previous quarter. The strong demand in the 3D sensing market was the main reason. Among them, sales of VCSEL products for 3D sensing applications have achieved rapid growth.

Lumentum said that in the field of consumer electronics, larger, higher-density VCSEL arrays are conducive to improving 3D imaging. In addition, applications inside and outside vehicles may soon bring significant opportunities for VCSELs.

Lumentum began to deploy the 3D sensing market in 2010 and has shipped more than 950 million 3D sensing lasers, including 50 million edge-emitting lasers (EEL) and 900 million VCSELs. Lumentum's VCSEL and EEL products for a variety of applications such as iToF (indirect time of flight), dToF (direct time of flight), structured light, automotive in-cabin, and automotive lidar are in mass production, and 3D in the Chinese market since 2018 Sensing VCSEL shipments have exceeded 50 million units.

Lumentum announced in November last year that it had acquired some of TriLumina's technical assets, including the latter's patents and other intellectual property rights. TriLumina's advanced VCSEL technology includes innovative flip-chip, back-emitting VCSEL arrays, which can be used in various applications in 3D sensing, automotive safety driving assistance systems, LiDAR and other emerging fields.

Ji Xiang revealed to Jiwei that Lumentum's acquisition of TriLumina-related VCSEL IP is to strengthen the ability to develop chips independently. The company's rapid internal integration has been accepted by a leading OEM and has made breakthrough progress. Lumentum will launch a series of products for the automotive 3D sensing market in the future.

Ji Xiang pointed out that VCSEL will be one of the indispensable key components of autonomous vehicles. However, due to the many restrictions of vehicle regulations, the product threshold is relatively high. Early product development will be an important step in introducing new automotive fields in the future.