New Technologies and Innovative Applications of Laser Rangefinders
In the early 1990s, major enterprises in Europe, America and other regions successively developed commercially viable semiconductor laser diodes, bringing revolutionary progress to the practical application value of laser technology. Other types of lasers were greatly restricted in popularization due to complex light‑emitting mechanisms, excessive size and weight, and high power consumption. The emergence of semiconductor lasers solved these drawbacks effectively. With the continuous maturity of semiconductor laser technology and gradual cost reduction, their production scale and application coverage keep expanding. Judging from the current development trend, they boast promising application prospects.
Semiconductor lasers feature compact size, light weight, high reliability, high conversion efficiency, low power consumption, simple driving power supply, direct modulation capability, simple structure, low cost and safe operation, supporting an extremely wide range of scenarios. Typical applications include optical storage, laser printing, laser typesetting, laser ranging, barcode scanning, industrial detection, testing and measuring instruments, laser display, medical equipment, national defense, security monitoring, field exploration, construction leveling and marking instruments, laboratory and teaching demonstration, stage lighting and laser performances, laser level rulers, and various marking and positioning devices.
Unique advantages make semiconductor lasers highly suitable for national defense applications, such as field distance measurement, firearm aiming, shooting simulation systems, dazzling jamming, submarine communication and guidance, fuze systems, and security defense. Powered by ordinary batteries, they enable the deployment of various portable defense devices.
Currently commercialized semiconductor lasers cover multiple wavelength bands: 370 nm, 390 nm, 405 nm, 430 nm, 480 nm, 635 nm, 650 nm, 670 nm, 780 nm, 808 nm, 850 nm, 980 nm, 1310 nm and 1550 nm. Among them, 1310 nm and 1550 nm wavelengths are mainly adopted in optical fiber communication. The range of 405 nm to 670 nm belongs to the visible light band, 780 nm to 1550 nm to the infrared band, and 370 nm to 390 nm to the ultraviolet band.
