Light Sources for Imaging
Make the Right Features Visible.
A camera can only capture the information that illumination makes visible.
The right lighting geometry, wavelength and intensity can increase contrast, suppress unwanted reflections and reveal features that would otherwise be difficult to detect.
Laser 2000 provides a broad range of industrial illumination solutions for machine vision and image processing—from standard lighting geometries to custom-engineered solutions.
What Does Your Application Need?
Reveal Surface Features
Use controlled illumination to enhance scratches, edges, textures and other surface characteristics.
Reduce Reflections
Select the appropriate illumination geometry to improve imaging of reflective or difficult surfaces.
Create Uniform Contrast
Generate consistent imaging conditions for reliable inspection despite variations in the surrounding environment.
Freeze Fast Processes
Synchronise high-intensity or strobe illumination with image acquisition for high-speed production and inspection.
See Beyond Visible Light
Use UV, multispectral, IR or SWIR illumination where visible wavelengths do not provide sufficient contrast or material information.
Find the Right Illumination
There is no single best light for machine vision.
The appropriate solution depends on the object, the feature you need to detect and how light interacts with its surface.
Key considerations include:
- Illumination Geometry
- Wavelength
- Working Distance
- Field of View
- Surface Properties
- Camera Exposure
- Continuous or Strobe Operation
- Synchronisation
The objective is not simply to make an object brighter—it is to create the contrast required for reliable image analysis.
Choose the Right Lighting Approach
Direct & Bright-Field Illumination
Useful when surface characteristics and reflected light provide the contrast required for inspection.
Dark-Field Illumination
Highlights edges, scratches and surface structures by using low-angle illumination while reducing directly reflected light.
Diffuse Illumination
Creates uniform lighting around difficult, curved or reflective objects and helps minimise unwanted reflections.
Backlighting
Creates high-contrast silhouettes for dimensional measurement, edge detection and presence inspection.
Coaxial Illumination
Provides illumination along the optical axis for inspecting flat reflective surfaces and features.
Structured Light
Projects defined lines or patterns for applications including shape analysis and 3D measurement.
High-Power & Strobe Illumination
Provides short, intense illumination for high-speed imaging and applications requiring short exposure times.
Spectral Illumination
UV, RGB, multispectral, IR and SWIR illumination can reveal characteristics that are difficult or impossible to distinguish under conventional visible lighting.
The supplied portfolio includes bar, ring, dome, flat diffuse, backlight, spot, coaxial and dark-field solutions as well as structured light, line-scan, strobe, RGB/multispectral, UV and IR/SWIR illumination.
Standard or Custom?
Some applications can be solved with an established illumination geometry. Others cannot.
Object shape, restricted installation space, unusual working distances, spectral requirements or demanding inspection conditions may require modification or a completely application-specific illumination solution.
Laser 2000 provides access to both standard illumination technologies and custom-engineered solutions.
Typical Applications
Quality Inspection & Defect Detection
Increase contrast to identify defects and irregularities reliably.
OCR & Code Reading
Create consistent imaging conditions for characters, barcodes and DataMatrix codes.
Surface Inspection
Reveal scratches, textures and defects on challenging surfaces.
Dimensional Measurement
Use controlled illumination and backlighting for precise edge and geometry detection.
Semiconductor & Electronics Inspection
Visualise small structures and defects in demanding production environments.
Packaging & Container Inspection
Verify presence, position, integrity and markings.
Robot Guidance & Positioning
Create reliable image information for automated positioning and handling.
High-Speed Production Inspection
Combine controlled or strobed illumination with fast image acquisition.
Relevant industries also include automotive, battery manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, logistics, printing and packaging, robotics and automation.
Why Laser 2000
Explore Related Light Source Technologies
LED Illumination for Analytics
LED-based illumination and excitation for analytical, scientific and photochemical applications.
Spectroscopy Lamps & Light Sources
Light sources for spectroscopy, optical characterization, calibration and analytical measurements.
Solid-State & Stabilized CW Lasers
Continuous-wave laser sources for scientific, analytical, industrial and OEM applications.
Pulsed & Ultrashort-Pulse Lasers
Nanosecond, picosecond and femtosecond laser sources for precision processing, measurement and advanced photonics applications.
Line Lasers
Industrial line laser solutions for 3D inspection, shape measurement and non-contact guidance.
Laser & Light Sources
Explore our broad portfolio of light source technologies across UV, VIS, NIR and SWIR.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which illumination geometry should I use?
The right geometry depends on the object’s surface, the feature you need to detect and how light interacts with the material. Our experts help identify the right approach for your inspection task.
Can lighting be synchronised with high-speed image acquisition?
Yes. Strobe and high-power illumination can be synchronised with camera exposure to freeze fast-moving objects and processes.
Do I need a standard or a custom illumination solution?
Many applications can be solved with an established illumination geometry, but object shape, installation space or spectral requirements sometimes call for a custom-engineered solution. Our experts help evaluate which approach fits your application.
Need Better Contrast?
Tell us what you need to detect, what the object looks like and how your imaging system is configured. Our experts can help identify the right illumination geometry, wavelength and operating mode.