This patent application is a national phase filing under section 371 of PCT/EP2017/058774, filed Apr. 12, 2017, which claims the priority of German patent application 10 2016 106 896.9, filed Apr. 14, 2016, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a light-emitting component.

BACKGROUND

A laser diode comprising at least two active layers arranged one above another is described in the prior art, for example, by International Patent Application No. WO 0133607 A2, said laser diode being arranged in an LED housing comprising a radiation-transmissive potting.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments provide an improved light-emitting component in particular for a time-of-flight measurement.

One advantage of the component described is that the component is constructed in a simple manner, and that the component is suitable for providing short light pulses for one time-of-flight measurement. This advantage is achieved by virtue of the fact that an edge emitting semiconductor laser is provided, wherein the semiconductor laser is arranged in a first light-transmissive layer. A second light-transmissive layer is applied on the first layer. The semiconductor laser is arranged in a housing, wherein an emission opening for emitting light from the housing is provided. With the aid of the arrangement described, a deflection of the light in the direction of the emission opening is achieved using simple means. The component is simple to produce and is suitable for emitting short light pulses, in particular for a time-of-flight measurement.

In one embodiment, the emission opening is arranged at least partly outside an emission angle range of the semiconductor laser. By way of example, 50% or 80% or more of the emission opening may be outside the emission angle range. As a result, a direct emission of the light proceeding from the semiconductor laser via the emission opening is not possible. Consequently, a deflection of the light in the housing and thus a longer path of the light in the first and second layers are required. By way of example, the entire emission opening may be arranged outside the emission angle range of the semiconductor laser.

In one embodiment, the interface is arranged in a manner inclined at an angle of between 45° and 135°, in particular between 70° and 110° with respect to the plane of the side face of the semiconductor laser.

In one embodiment, at least part of the light emitted by the semiconductor laser is directed directly onto an interface between the first and second layers. An improved and faster coupling-out, that is to say deflection of the light in the direction of the emission opening, is achieved in this way. The emission opening is arranged in particular parallel to the interface.

Depending on the embodiment chosen, at least 10% of the light emitted by the semiconductor laser is directed directly onto the interface between the first and second layers. A good coupling-out of the light may be achieved as a result.

In one embodiment, at least 30% of the light emitted by the semiconductor laser is directed directly onto the interface between the first and second layers. An improved coupling-out of the light may be achieved as a result. Depending on the embodiment, it is also possible for 50% or more of the light of the semiconductor laser to be radiated directly onto the interface.

In a further embodiment, a maximum of 50% or less of the light emitted by the semiconductor laser is directed directly onto the interface between the first and second layers. As a result, it is possible to achieve a sufficient direct coupling-out of the light via the interface in conjunction with a compact and simple construction.

In one embodiment, an improved deflection from the emission angle range in the direction of the emission opening is achieved. For this purpose, at least 5% more scattering particles are arranged in the second layer than in the first layer. In particular, the first layer may be free of scattering particles.

A further improvement in the deflection in the case of short light pulses is achieved by virtue of at least one part of the inner wall of the housing and/or a part of the base of the housing being formed in reflective fashion. Consequently, it is not necessary to provide a separate deflection face or a separate deflection element. The housing wall and/or the base of the housing may be used for this purpose.

In one embodiment, at least one part of the base of the housing is formed by a leadframe section or by a ceramic plate.

Experiments have shown that CaF2 particles, in particular, are suitable as scattering particles. In this case, good results were achieved with scattering particles with at least 90% thereof comprising a size of smaller than 15 μm.

The first and/or the second layer may comprise silicone, epoxy material and/or resin as light-transmissive material.

A further improvement in the deflection in the direction of the emission opening may be achieved by virtue of the first layer comprising a lower refractive index for the light of the semiconductor laser than the second layer. By way of example, the difference between the refractive indexes may be in the region of at least 0.1%, in particular of at least 1%.

In one embodiment, the interface comprises a rough, uneven structure. A coupling of the light from the first layer into the second layer is improved as a result.

In one embodiment, in the emission angle range a reflection face is arranged at an inclination with respect to the emission direction of the semiconductor laser, wherein the reflection face deflects the light of the semiconductor laser in the direction of the emission opening. Temporally shorter light pulses may be emitted as a result.

