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Photonics
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Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Technology: Innovations and Future Trends
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Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Technology: Innovations and Future Trends

A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732). This special issue belongs to the section "Lasers, Light Sources and Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 10683

Editor

Dr. Yu Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China
Interests: vertical cavity surface emitting laser; nonlinear dynamics; laser chaos; reservoir computing; spiking neural network

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) technology has emerged as a crucial component in modern optoelectronics, driving innovations across various applications from data communication to sensing and imaging systems. This Special Issue aims to focus on the latest advancements and future trends in VCSEL technology, encompassing the development of novel materials, innovative design approaches, and enhanced fabrication techniques. Additionally, we also aim to explore the integration of VCSELs in photonic neural networks, underscoring their potential in next-generation computing and artificial intelligence applications. We set out to gather cutting-edge research that highlights the potential of VCSELs to revolutionize industries through improved performance, efficiency, and versatility. We seek contributions that explore theoretical studies, experimental investigations, and practical implementations, providing a comprehensive overview of the current state and future directions of VCSEL technology.

Dr. Yu Huang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • VCSEL technology
  • optoelectronics
  • laser innovation
  • data communication
  • sensing systems
  • imaging applications
  • material development
  • design approaches
  • fabrication techniques
  • photonic neural networks
  • future trends

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1827 KB  
Article
Monolithically Integrated VCSEL Beam Scanner with Slow-Light Amplifiers for Solid-State LiDAR
by Ahmed Hassan, Xiaodong Gu and Fumio Koyama
Photonics 2026, 13(2), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13020172 - 10 Feb 2026
Viewed by 1333
Abstract
The rapidly increasing demand for compact, high-performance beam-steering solutions in LiDAR systems has driven substantial advances in vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) technologies. In this paper, we present a high-power, ultra-low-divergence VCSEL-based beam scanner array that integrates multi-wavelength seed lasers with extended-length optical amplifiers, [...] Read more.
The rapidly increasing demand for compact, high-performance beam-steering solutions in LiDAR systems has driven substantial advances in vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) technologies. In this paper, we present a high-power, ultra-low-divergence VCSEL-based beam scanner array that integrates multi-wavelength seed lasers with extended-length optical amplifiers, thereby simultaneously achieving wide-angle beam steering, near-diffraction-limited beam quality, and watt-class output power. The proposed architecture exploits slow-light modes supported by laterally extended VCSEL waveguides incorporating precisely engineered surface gratings. This design enables fully electronic beam steering over an angular range exceeding 30°, with an angular resolution surpassing 1600 resolvable points. Systematic characterization of seed lasers with distinct grating periods confirms robust single-mode operation and yields a cumulative wavelength tuning range exceeding 22 nm. When integrated with optical amplifiers up to 6 mm in length, the system achieves a record-low beam divergence of 0.018°, approaching the theoretical diffraction limit. Under continuous-wave operation and without active thermal management, the device delivers output powers exceeding 1.6 W. By overcoming the long-standing trade-offs among steering range, beam quality, and output power, this work establishes a transformative paradigm for compact VCSEL-based beam-steering systems and represents a significant step toward next-generation solid-state LiDAR technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Technology: Innovations and Future Trends)
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14 pages, 3259 KB  
Article
Design of Circularly Polarized VCSEL Based on Cascaded Chiral GaAs Metasurface
by Xiaoming Wang, Bo Cheng, Yuxiao Zou, Guofeng Song, Kunpeng Zhai and Fuchun Sun
Photonics 2026, 13(1), 87; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13010087 - 19 Jan 2026
Viewed by 1070
Abstract
Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) have shown great potential in high-speed communication, quantum information processing, and 3D sensing due to their excellent beam quality and low power consumption. However, generating high-purity and controllable circularly polarized light usually requires external optical components such [...] Read more.
Vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) have shown great potential in high-speed communication, quantum information processing, and 3D sensing due to their excellent beam quality and low power consumption. However, generating high-purity and controllable circularly polarized light usually requires external optical components such as quarter-wave plates, which undoubtedly increases system complexity and volume, hindering chip-level integration. To address this issue, we propose a monolithic integration scheme that directly integrates a custom-designed double-layer asymmetric metasurface onto the upper distributed Bragg reflector of a chiral VCSEL. This metasurface consists of a rotated GaAs elliptical nanocolumn array and an anisotropic grating above it. By precisely controlling the relative orientation between the two, the in-plane symmetry of the structure is effectively broken, introducing a significant optical chirality response at a wavelength of 1550 nm. Numerical simulations show that this structure can achieve a near 100% high reflectivity for the left circularly polarized light (LCP), while suppressing the reflectivity of the right circularly polarized light (RCP) to approximately 33%, thereby obtaining an efficient in-cavity circular polarization selection function. Based on this, the proposed VCSEL can directly emit high-purity RCP without any external polarization control components. This compact circularly polarized laser source provides a key solution for achieving the next generation of highly integrated photonic chips and will have a profound impact on frontier fields such as spin optics, secure communication, and chip-level quantum light sources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Technology: Innovations and Future Trends)
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18 pages, 6167 KB  
Article
Reconfigurable Millimeter-Wave Generation via Mutually Injected Spin-VCSELs
by Yichuan Xiong, Yu Huang, Pei Zhou, Kuenyao Lau and Nianqiang Li
Photonics 2026, 13(1), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13010028 - 29 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 505
Abstract
We propose a novel scheme for generating high-frequency millimeter-wave signals by exploiting period-one (P1) dynamics in a mutual injection configuration of two spin-polarized vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (spin-VCSELs). The frequency of the generated millimeter-wave signal is jointly determined by the birefringence rate of the [...] Read more.
We propose a novel scheme for generating high-frequency millimeter-wave signals by exploiting period-one (P1) dynamics in a mutual injection configuration of two spin-polarized vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (spin-VCSELs). The frequency of the generated millimeter-wave signal is jointly determined by the birefringence rate of the spin-VCSEL and the frequency detuning between the two lasers. By leveraging the complex dynamics of free-running spin-VCSELs, we explore the coupling of three distinct dynamic states: continuous-wave (CW) injected into CW, CW injected into P1 oscillation, and P1 oscillation injected into P1 oscillation. Our results reveal that these interactions not only enhance the tunability and frequency of the millimeter-wave output but also significantly reduce the linewidth, offering substantial advantages for reconfigurable photonic systems. This study demonstrates the remarkable potential of mutually injected spin-VCSELs for generating high-performance, tunable photonic millimeter waves and highlights their promising applications in advanced communication and radar systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Technology: Innovations and Future Trends)
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28 pages, 3909 KB  
Article
VCSELs: Influence of Design on Performance and Data Transmission over Multi-Mode and Single-Mode Fibers
by Nikolay N. Ledentsov, Nikolay Ledentsov, Jr., Vitaly A. Shchukin, Alexander N. Ledentsov, Oleg Yu. Makarov, Ilya E. Titkov, Markus Lindemann, Thomas de Adelsburg Ettmayer, Nils C. Gerhardt, Martin R. Hofmann, Xin Chen, Jason E. Hurley, Hao Dong and Ming-Jun Li
Photonics 2025, 12(10), 1037; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12101037 - 21 Oct 2025
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3479
Abstract
Substantial improvements in the performance of optical interconnects based on multi-mode fibers are required to support emerging single-channel data transmission rates of 200 Gb/s and 400 Gb/s. Future optical components must combine very high modulation bandwidths—supporting signaling at 100 Gbaud and 200 Gbaud—with [...] Read more.
Substantial improvements in the performance of optical interconnects based on multi-mode fibers are required to support emerging single-channel data transmission rates of 200 Gb/s and 400 Gb/s. Future optical components must combine very high modulation bandwidths—supporting signaling at 100 Gbaud and 200 Gbaud—with reduced spectral width to mitigate chromatic-dispersion-induced pulse broadening and increased brightness to further restrict flux-confining area in multi-mode fibers and thereby increase the effective modal bandwidth (EMB). A particularly promising route to improved performance within standard oxide-confined VCSEL technology is the introduction of multiple isolated or optically coupled oxide-confined apertures, which we refer to collectively as multi-aperture (MA) VCSEL arrays. We show that properly designed MA VCSELs exhibit narrow emission spectra, narrow far-field profiles and extended intrinsic modulation bandwidths, enabling longer-reach data transmission over both multi-mode (MMF) and single-mode fibers (SMF). One approach uses optically isolated apertures with lateral dimensions of approximately 2–3 µm arranged with a pitch of 10–12 µm or less. Such devices demonstrate relaxation oscillation frequencies of around 30 GHz in continuous-wave operation and intrinsic modulation bandwidths approaching 50 GHz. Compared with a conventional single-aperture VCSELs of equivalent oxide-confined area, MA designs can reduce the spectral width (root mean square values < 0.15 nm), lower series resistance (≈50 Ω) and limit junction overheating through more efficient multi-spot heat dissipation at the same total current. As each aperture lases in a single transverse mode, these devices exhibit narrow far-field patterns. In combination with well-defined spacing between emitting spots, they permit tailored restricted launch conditions in MMFs, enhancing effective modal bandwidth. In another MA approach, the apertures are optically coupled such that self-injection locking (SIL) leads to lasing in a single supermode. One may regard one of the supermodes as acting as a master mode controlling the other one. Streak-camera studies reveal post-pulse oscillations in the SIL regime at frequencies up to 100 GHz. MA VCSELs enable a favorable combination of wavelength chirp and chromatic dispersion, extending transmission distances over MMFs beyond those expected for zero-chirp sources and supporting transfer bandwidths up to 60 GHz over kilometer-length SMF links. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Technology: Innovations and Future Trends)
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16 pages, 3496 KB  
Article
A CMOS Bandgap-Based VCSEL Driver for Temperature-Robust Optical Applications
by Juntong Li and Sung-Min Park
Photonics 2025, 12(9), 902; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12090902 - 9 Sep 2025
Viewed by 1549
Abstract
This paper presents a temperature-robust current-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) driver (or CMVD) fabricated in a standard 180 nm CMOS process. While prior art relies on conventional current-mirror circuits for bias generation, the proposed CMVD integrates a bandgap-based biasing architecture to achieve high [...] Read more.
This paper presents a temperature-robust current-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) driver (or CMVD) fabricated in a standard 180 nm CMOS process. While prior art relies on conventional current-mirror circuits for bias generation, the proposed CMVD integrates a bandgap-based biasing architecture to achieve high thermal stability and process insensitivity. The bandgap core yields a temperature-compensated reference voltage and is then converted into both stable bias and modulation currents through a cascode current-mirror and switching logic. Post-layout simulations of the proposed CMVD show that the reference voltage variation remains within ±2%, and the bias current deviation is under 10% across full PVT conditions. Furthermore, the output current variation is limited to 7.4%, even under the worst-case corners (SS, 125 °C), demonstrating the reliability of the proposed architecture. The implemented chip occupies a compact core area of 0.0623 mm2 and consumes an average power of 18 mW from a single 3.3 V supply, suggesting that the bandgap-stabilized CMVD is a promising candidate for compact, power-sensitive optical systems requiring reliable and temperature-stable performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Technology: Innovations and Future Trends)
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13 pages, 4788 KB  
Article
Design of High-Efficiency Circularly Polarized Reflection Mirror Based on Chiral Dielectric Metasurface
by Bo Cheng, Yuxiao Zou, Kunpeng Zhai and Guofeng Song
Photonics 2025, 12(4), 341; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12040341 - 3 Apr 2025
Viewed by 1739
Abstract
Circularly polarized lasers can directly generate circularly polarized light without requiring complex external optics, enabling applications in biosensing, environmentally friendly antibacterial treatments, and cancer cell phototherapy. However, the circular dichroism (CD) of chiral metasurface mirrors—a core component of such lasers—typically remains below 3%, [...] Read more.
Circularly polarized lasers can directly generate circularly polarized light without requiring complex external optics, enabling applications in biosensing, environmentally friendly antibacterial treatments, and cancer cell phototherapy. However, the circular dichroism (CD) of chiral metasurface mirrors—a core component of such lasers—typically remains below 3%, limiting beam quality. Using COMSOL simulations, we broke the metasurface’s structural symmetry via displacement and rotation operations, introducing chirality to the unit cell. At 980 nm, the metasurface achieved 99.85% reflectivity and 52% CD. Multipole analysis suggests this enhancement stems from electric dipole and quadrupole coupling. Our laser design could generate micro-nano-scale chiral light, advancing applications in biophotonics, biomedicine, and life sciences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser Technology: Innovations and Future Trends)
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