Multi-Emitter Laser Diode for Dermatology Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current laser-based dermatological treatment devices face inefficiencies in power usage and treatment area coverage due to the high temperature sensitivity and divergent beam profiles of single-emitter laser diodes, leading to excessive waste heat and reduced optical output.
Innovation Solution
The use of multi-emitter laser diodes with a monolithic stack of layers on a substrate, where multiple emitter junctions are integrated and monolithically grown, providing a collective beam with improved voltage drop matching battery voltage, increasing optical output and efficiency, and allowing for fractional treatments with precise beam control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If single-emitter laser diodes are used, then device simplicity is maintained, but power efficiency deteriorates and treatment area coverage is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The laser diode is divided into multiple emitter junctions (first, second, and third emitters) within a single device structure. Each emitter can be independently controlled to deliver laser energy to different treatment areas, improving power efficiency and treatment coverage while maintaining a unified device architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple emitter junctions are integrated into a single laser diode device, combining their output to form a collective beam. This merging approach improves overall power efficiency and enables simultaneous or sequential treatment of multiple areas without requiring separate laser devices.
2Device complexity
If single-emitter laser diodes are used, then device structure is simple, but treatment area coverage is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The laser diode is segmented into multiple emitter junctions positioned to deliver beams to different treatment areas. This allows a single device to cover a broader treatment area by addressing multiple zones simultaneously or sequentially, eliminating the need for multiple separate devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The multiple emitters are arranged in a spatial configuration that expands the treatment coverage in additional dimensions. By positioning emitters at different locations and angles, the device can treat larger or more complex treatment areas that would be inaccessible to a single-emitter design.
3Ease of manufacture
If single-emitter laser diodes are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but optical output efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple emitter junctions are merged into a single integrated laser diode structure, combining their optical output to achieve higher total power. The emitters share common electrical contacts and substrate, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while achieving enhanced optical output through the collective contribution of all emitters.
4Area of stationary object
If multiple separate laser devices are used to increase treatment area coverage, then treatment coverage is improved, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple emitter junctions are integrated into a single laser diode device with shared electrical contacts and control circuitry. This unified structure provides the treatment area coverage of multiple devices while avoiding the complexity of coordinating multiple independent devices, reducing both system complexity and overall power consumption.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enhances the efficiency of battery-powered devices, enabling longer operation between charges and increased treatment area coverage with improved optical output and precise beam control for fractional treatments.
Implementation Method 1
each emitter junction configured to emit a laser beam. The battery source provides current to the laser diode such that each of the at least two emitter junctions concurrently emits a laser beam
Data Source
AI summary
A dermatological treatment device includes a handheld device body, and a laser control circuit housed in the device body and configured to generate laser radiation for delivery to a target area of tissue. The laser control circuit includes a multiple-emitter laser diode and a battery source. The multiple-emitter laser diode includes a monolithic stack of layers formed on a substrate, the monolithic stack of layers including a multiple-emitter region defining at least two emitter junctions, each emitter junction configured to emit a laser beam. The battery source provides current to the laser diode such that each of the at least two emitter junctions concurrently emits a laser beam, the at least two concurrently emitted laser beams forming a collective beam. The device delivers the collective beam to the target area of tissue to provide a dermatological treatment.