Abstract

For laser range tinders utilizing the time-of-flight principle the maximum measurable distance is limited by the output power of the laser. The optimum wavelength with respect to eyesafe opearation is 1.5µm. For short pulses, 1-1000 ns, the maximum allowed pulsed power is in fact almost one million times higher compared to 0,9 µm wavelength! For this application the InP based semiconductor laser has a number of interesting properties such as small size, high efficiency and ability to lase at the desired wavelength.

© 1996 IEEE