ROHM has announced the launch of an innovative infrared light source technology called VCSELED™. VCSELED™ technology, which integrates the characteristics of VCSELs and LEDs to enhance the performance of automotive driver assistance technologies, is expected to play a key role in areas such as driver monitoring systems (DMS) and in-cockpit monitoring systems (IMS), and ROHM is actively promoting the development and production of related products.

With the continued pursuit of vehicle safety performance, vehicles equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are often equipped with a Driver Monitoring System (DMS) to monitor the driver's status. In this regard, ROHM's VCSELED™ technology provides a high-precision light source that helps to realise accurate driver monitoring, in compliance with relevant regulations for this function in places such as Japan and the EU.

In addition to driver monitoring systems, cockpit monitoring systems are increasingly becoming a focus of attention for automotive manufacturers and suppliers, and ROHM's VCSELED™ technology improves the accuracy and performance of detection systems by combining VCSEL elements and light diffusion materials to achieve beam angles equivalent to those of LEDs. This is important for the development of applications such as robotics, industrial equipment, and spatial identification and ranging systems.

The VCSEL element built into VCSELED™ technology features a narrow band of light-emitting wavelengths, which improves identification performance at the light-receiving end and eliminates problems that can occur with LEDs. At the same time, the technology's excellent wavelength temperature drift performance enables high-precision sensing that is unaffected by temperature changes. In addition, its fast response time contributes to improved performance in infrared light ranging applications.

ROHM plans to start selling trial samples in 2024 and gradually introduce them to the market. In the future, they will continue to promote the development of laser light source technology and contribute more innovative technologies to the development of cockpit monitoring systems and other fields.

In summary, ROHM's VCSELED™ technology brings new development opportunities to the automotive industry, and is expected to promote the advancement of automotive driver assistance technology, enhance vehicle safety performance, and inject new vitality into the industry's development.