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Last year Osram introduced its first Synios infrared LED (IRED) for the consumer market, the SFH 4770S. Now the component is suitable also for use in vehicles. The main applications for this IRED with a wavelength of 850 nanometers (nm) are infrared lighting units for camera systems that monitor the outside environment of the car. These systems include night vision assistants and forward collision detection systems such as pedestrian protection solutions that work with camera images. Flooding the scene in front of the vehicle with infrared light enables the vehicle environment to be reliably detected even in the dark or in poor weather conditions. Unlike laser-based assistance systems, which work with pulsed light, the above-mentioned systems tend to use permanent light sources.

Synios SFH 4770S A01 will replace the established Dragon family in these applications. The main requirement is high optical output in continuous operation (DC). The new IRED delivers an optical output of almost 1,200 milliwatts from a current of 1 ampere and is therefore around a quarter brighter than the Platinum Dragon SFH 4235 for example.

SFH 4770S A01 currently offers the best efficiency and the best ratio between component size and optical output on the market for the automotive sector. Like its predecessor, the SFH 4770S A01 contains a highly efficient chip in nanostack technology featuring two light-emitting p-n junctions. The typical forward voltage is 3.2 V - said Dr. Walter Rothmund, Head of Marketing Infrared Automotive at Osram Opto Semiconductors.

Like the Dragon LED SFH 4235, the Synios is also a Lambertian radiator which is ideal for reflector-based systems. The Synios package measures 2.75 x 2.0 x 0.6 mm, making it considerably smaller than that of the Dragon; in particular it requires only about one tenth of the footprint. Its thermal conductivity has not changed however, and its thermal resistance is still typically 6 kelvin per watt (K/W). Designers can therefore create much smaller systems with the same thermal management. Due to higher optical output fewer components are needed to produce the same brightness levels, which in turn reduces system costs still further.