Optical Design for Laser Diode Scanner Headlamp with Efficiently Distributed Optical Power for Adaptive Driving Beam System of Automobiles

Abstract

The illumination optical system using a laser diode has advantages such as small size and high efficiency compared to an optical system using a conventional light source. In particular, its advantages can be maximized in high-resolution spatial light modulation. Based on these advantages, research to apply laser diode scanning to high-resolution adaptive driving beam (ADB) is currently being actively conducted. To construct a high-resolution illumination optical system for an ADB system using a single laser diode as a light source, the configuration of an optical scanning system is essential. In the general high-speed scanning method, the optical power at the center is relatively smaller compared with that at the edge because of the faster scanning speed when the center is illuminated. This causes large losses in automotive lighting optical system where the optical power in the center should be higher. Herein, we propose an optical system that can change the light power distribution of the center and the edge by applying a prism. In addition, by producing a prototype of an optical scanning system, the effect of efficiently distributing optical power by the designed optical scanning system was experimentally verified.