Superluminescent Diodes (SLDs)

Superluminescent diodes (SLDs) are broadband light sources that emit light with a short coherence length and high brightness, making them ideal for applications such as spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), fiber optic gyroscopes (FOG), and optical sensing. Thorlabs offers visible-wavelength SLDs in TO-56 can or butterfly packages, as well as a selection of NIR-wavelength SLDs in butterfly packages that includes versions optimized for use in SD-OCT systems. SLD benchtop sources are also available, which are all-in-one solutions that integrate an SLD, controller, and TEC in one unit with either a single mode or polarization-maintaining FC/APC output. Additionally, a 4-channel laser/SLD source can be configured with up to four user-selected laser diodes or SLDs, each with its own independent TEC and microcontroller.