Semiconductor lasers articles from across Nature Portfolio

Stable lasers are crucial in many applications like sensing. Here, the authors demonstrate a laser frequency locking method that maintains performance, eliminates modulation, simplifies architecture, and enables miniaturization on a photonic chip.

We have theoretically and experimentally proven the potential of multi-junction VCSELs to achieve high electro-optical conversion efficiency, providing insights for the further development and application of high efficiency semiconductor lasers.

The authors showcase an innovative anti-reflective vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (AR-VCSEL) that achieves low divergence and maintains a single-mode lasing. The 6-junction AR-VCSEL array demonstrates low divergence from 8° to 16° (D86) and tripled brightness compared to conventional counterparts. The AR-VCSEL offers an excellent avenue for long-distance LiDARs.

Solid-state spatio-spectral coherent light detection and ranging system is proposed based on flutter-wavelength-swept laser for real-time four-dimensional coherent imaging over extended measurable distance even in challenging environments.

I argue that a surface emitting laser that remains single mode irrespective of its size, a scale-invariant laser, should of necessity also waste light at the edge. This is a fundamental departure from the Schawlow-Townes two-mirror strategy that keeps light away from mirrors and edges to preserve gain and minimize loss. The strategy was implemented in the recent discovery of the Berkeley Surface Emitting Laser (BerkSEL).

Prof. Jagadish, awarded a UNESCO Prize for his contribution to the development of nanoscience and nanotechnology, holding many positions and numerous awards, talks exclusively to Light.

Two independent reports of directly modulated lasers with bandwidths of >60 GHz may help bring data rates beyond 200 Gb s^–1 to low-cost optical communication systems. Key to the successes has been managing photonic feedback effects within the laser cavities.