Prospects for 4-laser white-light sources

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a series of simulation experiments designed to demonstrate the feasibility of using solid-state lasers in white-light mixtures. The mixed-laser sources are evaluated in terms of the luminous efficacy of the radiation (LER) as well as different measures of colour performance. The latter include the CIE colour rendering index (Ra) and the IES colour fidelity index (Rf) as well as a selection of additional parameters in the two systems. Optimization of the mixtures is achieved by the use of purpose-designed differential evolution algorithms. The best results to date (with four real laser wavelengths) are Rf of 84 with LER 364 lm/W, which indicate the feasibility of the mixed-laser approach to provide highly efficient, energy-saving light sources. These prospects will be further enhanced by potential future developments in semiconductor lasers, with the possibility of producing Rf of 86 with LER of 380 lm/W.