Tesla Motors Club
There have been articles bouncing around about this for a while, but none had any useful details. This one finally has some actual photos, so it's possible to have an idea of what's going on.
First look at BMW's new laser headlights
Looks like there are three wide-bandgap gallium nitride based blue lasers which are directed at a white phosphor. That luminescence is then roughly collimated with a lens and focusing mirror set to produce the headlight... err... light. This system doesn't look nearly as compact as some articles had been describing, but with the claimed efficiency gains, it's probably worth it. Plus it's a car with frickin' laser beams.
First look at BMW's new laser headlights
Looks like there are three wide-bandgap gallium nitride based blue lasers which are directed at a white phosphor. That luminescence is then roughly collimated with a lens and focusing mirror set to produce the headlight... err... light. This system doesn't look nearly as compact as some articles had been describing, but with the claimed efficiency gains, it's probably worth it. Plus it's a car with frickin' laser beams.