Premstaetten, Austria and Munich, Germany- ams OSRAM, a global leader in optical solutions, introduced the first members of the OSLON Black family of infrared (IR) LEDs with a rectangular beam that matches the 4:3 aspect ratio of the wide-angle cameras in cabin monitoring systems.
The new SFH47278AS A01 produces a 155° x 130° field of illumination (FoI), and the SFH47267AS A01’s FoI is 135° x 110°. Automotive manufacturers which use the SFH47278AS A01 or SFH47267AS A01 emitters can reduce the complexity and cost of the optical stack in cabin monitoring systems while improving the quality and reliability of the IR images which they capture.
The new 940nm OSLON Black emitters will support safety-critical applications such as driver distraction and drowsiness monitoring, occupancy or child presence detection, and seat belt detection.
Today, cabin monitoring systems are based on illuminators which produce a circular beam. Manufacturers may apply a secondary lens on top of the LED to shape the beam to fit their camera’s 4:3 field of view. This adds to the cost and complexity of the entire optical stack.
By contrast, when using the SFH47278AS A01 or SFH47267AS A01 there is no need for the additional lens, making a cabin monitoring system simpler and easier to design and make.
In addition, the OSLON Black IR LEDs’ output is more homogeneous than the modified circular beam, with a better optical power distribution across the camera’s field of view. This results in better imaging performance, and so more accurate and reliable performance of functions which require detailed image analysis, such as detection of driver distraction.
Firat Sarialtun, senior global marketing manager at ams OSRAM, said: ‘The new OSLON Black IR LEDs with rectangular beam provide an application-specific enhancement which delivers increased value and performance for automotive manufacturers. Once again, ams OSRAM optical engineering expertise and application know-how have enabled us to develop two useful new products which exactly meet our customers’ need.’
The AEC-Q102 qualified SFH47278AS A01 and SFH47267AS A01 produce a centroid wavelength of 940nm with a maximum pulsed forward current of 5.0A. The new products share the same package and board footprint as the rest of the OSLON Black family, making it easy for customers to migrate designs from LEDs with a circular beam to the new products.
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