[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":524},["ShallowReactive",2],{"/en/news/gclight-achieves-watt-class-room-temperature-cw-output-in-940nm-pcsel":3,"news-posts-en":70},{"id":4,"title":5,"badge":6,"body":8,"date":54,"description":55,"extension":56,"featured":57,"image":58,"meta":60,"navigation":61,"path":62,"pinned":57,"seo":63,"stem":64,"tags":65,"__hash__":69},"newsPostsEn/en/news/gclight-achieves-watt-class-room-temperature-cw-output-in-940nm-pcsel.md","GC Light Achieves Watt-Class Continuous-Wave Output from a 940 nm PCSEL Chip",{"label":7},"Milestone",{"type":9,"value":10,"toc":50},"minimark",[11,16,19,22,43,47],[12,13,15],"p",{"style":14},"font-family:'Mi Sans','MiSans','MiSans-Regular',sans-serif; font-size:1.05rem; font-weight:500; margin:0 0 0.9rem 0;","    GC Light has recently achieved a major breakthrough in 940 nm photonic crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL) development, demonstrating more than 1 W of room-temperature continuous-wave (CW) output power.",[12,17,18],{"style":14},"    As a new type of semiconductor laser, the PCSEL exploits the two-dimensional resonance characteristics of a photonic crystal. Compared with conventional ridge-waveguide lasers or vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), it can support a much larger single-mode resonant aperture and higher single-mode output power. When the single-mode modal area extends to hundreds of micrometers or even the millimeter scale, the far-field divergence angle can be as low as 1° or even on the order of 0.1°. By contrast, conventional VCSELs and edge-emitting lasers typically exhibit far-field divergence angles greater than 10°, and the beam profile of edge emitters is often non-circular. In practical use, multiple lenses are therefore required for collimation, which increases system size and cost while also reducing reliability.",[12,20,21],{"style":14},"    Using its proprietary photonic-crystal structure together with an efficient thermal-management package, the GC Light team successfully achieved watt-class continuous-wave output at room temperature in the 940 nm band. The device exhibits a far-field divergence angle below 1°, and under 10 °C temperature control, the output power can reach 1.6 W. Its wavelength temperature coefficient is about 0.09 nm/K, far lower than that of edge-emitting lasers and comparable to that of VCSELs, while also offering superior far-field divergence and a narrower spectral linewidth.",[23,24,28,29,28,38],"div",{"className":25},[26,27],"news-figure-row","news-figure-row-940","\n  ",[30,31],"img",{"src":32,"alt":33,"className":34,"style":37},"/img/pcsel_article_5_01.webp","940 nm PCSEL CW output power and voltage curves",[35,36],"news-figure","rounded-lg","margin:0;",[30,39],{"src":40,"alt":41,"className":42,"style":37},"/img/pcsel_article_5_02.webp","940 nm PCSEL CW output and spectral characteristics",[35,36],[12,44,46],{"style":45},"font-family:'Mi Sans','MiSans','MiSans-Regular',sans-serif; font-size:0.95rem; color:#6b7280; text-align:center; margin:0 0 1.1rem 0;","Device characteristics under continuous-wave operation",[12,48,49],{"style":14},"    As a frontier technology, the PCSEL has been regarded as one of the key routes toward all-solid-state light sources for future LiDAR and related fields. The 940 nm band is especially promising because it is built on the lower-cost and more mature GaAs process platform. It offers broad application prospects in automotive LiDAR, industrial LiDAR, and related scenarios, and is expected to be among the first to achieve large-scale deployment. GC Light will continue advancing its R&D iterations to bring higher-performance PCSEL lasers into volume production.",{"title":51,"searchDepth":52,"depth":52,"links":53},"",2,[],"2026-04-14","GC Light has achieved a major breakthrough in 940 nm photonic crystal surface-emitting laser development, demonstrating room-temperature continuous-wave output power exceeding 1 W.","md",false,{"src":59},"/img/pcsel_article_5_03.webp",{},true,"/en/news/gclight-achieves-watt-class-room-temperature-cw-output-in-940nm-pcsel",{"title":5,"description":55},"en/news/gclight-achieves-watt-class-room-temperature-cw-output-in-940nm-pcsel",[66,67,68],"Research Highlights","LiDAR","PCSEL","bW7g7XmmvbILr9B0ST8tAF-JWB5r71KTips6dZNisQU",[71,152,206,235,281,407],{"id":72,"title":73,"badge":74,"body":76,"date":142,"description":143,"extension":56,"featured":57,"image":144,"meta":145,"navigation":61,"path":146,"pinned":57,"seo":147,"stem":148,"tags":149,"__hash__":151},"newsPostsEn/en/news/1p3um-quantum-dot-pcsel-first-room-temperature-cw-operation.md","First Room-Temperature CW Operation of a 1.3 μm Quantum-Dot PCSEL",{"label":75},"Hot",{"type":9,"value":77,"toc":140},[78,81,84,87,90,96,103,106,109,114,119,122,125],[12,79,80],{"style":14},"    With rapid advances in optical communications, LiDAR, and silicon photonics, there is a growing demand for high-performance, low-cost light sources with small divergence. Photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs), leveraging band-edge resonance in photonic crystals, support in-plane resonance and vertical emission, offering large single-mode areas, high power, and narrow divergence. They are widely regarded as a promising next-generation high-brightness source.",[12,82,83],{"style":14},"    Scalable PCSEL deployment hinges on efficient coupling between the gain medium and the resonant structure. In recent years, InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as a compelling gain platform due to their excellent high-temperature performance in the O-band (~1310 nm) and potential compatibility with GaAs and silicon processing. Compared with conventional InP-based quantum wells, QDs can deliver high performance at lower cost, aligning well with silicon photonics requirements for cost and reliability.",[12,85,86],{"style":14},"    However, QD-PCSEL development faces key challenges: a thin QD gain region, a low optical confinement factor, and slow carrier relaxation reduce modal gain. If cavity loss is high, lasing cannot be achieved. While buried-heterostructure PCSELs in quantum-well systems have demonstrated watt-class CW output, QD PCSELs have not achieved room-temperature CW operation to date. The bottleneck is the need to markedly reduce cavity loss so that the gain can reach threshold.",[12,88,89],{"style":14},"    To address this, our team introduced a triple-lattice photonic crystal structure. By precisely offsetting air holes within the lattice, we maintain low fundamental-mode loss while improving vertical radiation efficiency. This enables the first room-temperature continuous-wave lasing of an InAs/GaAs QD PCSEL within a compact 100×100 μm photonic-crystal cavity.",[30,91],{"src":92,"alt":93,"className":94},"img/pcsel_article_2_01.webp","Device structure of the 1.3 μm triple-lattice QD PCSEL",[35,36,95],"mb-4",[12,97,98,99],{"style":45},"Device structure of the 1.3 μm triple-lattice QD PCSEL. Source: ",[100,101,102],"em",{},"Optics Express",[12,104,105],{"style":14},"    Achieving efficient QD–photonic crystal coupling and room-temperature CW lasing requires precision growth and nanofabrication, including active-region growth, photonic crystal etching, and regrowth.",[12,107,108],{"style":14},"    First, multiple layers of InAs/InGaAs QD DWELL structures are grown on GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). A 300 nm p-GaAs layer is then regrown as the etch layer for the photonic crystal. Electron-beam lithography defines the triple-lattice photonic crystal over a 100×100 μm area, followed by ICP dry etching to form high-aspect-ratio air holes. Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) regrowth creates an asymmetric waveguide structure. Finally, photolithography defines a circular mesa for current confinement, a SiO2 passivation layer is deposited and opened, and metal contacts are formed.",[30,110],{"src":111,"alt":112,"className":113},"img/pcsel_article_2_02.webp","Operating characteristics of the 1.3 μm triple-lattice QD PCSEL",[35,36,95],[12,115,116,117],{"style":45},"Operating characteristics of the 1.3 μm triple-lattice QD PCSEL. Source: ",[100,118,102],{},[12,120,121],{"style":14},"    Using this approach, the QD photonic crystal laser achieved a threshold current of 139 mA and output power exceeding 1.4 mW at 10°C, with a side-mode suppression ratio of 37 dB and a spectral linewidth of ~0.1 nm, demonstrating good single-mode behavior. The wavelength temperature drift is 0.09 nm/K. Proton implantation can further reduce the threshold to 80 mA. Current performance is mainly limited by thermal and electrical resistance; further improvements in spectral matching, heat dissipation, and injection design are expected to enhance power and efficiency.",[12,123,124],{"style":14},"    This breakthrough validates the feasibility of integrating QDs with PCSELs and establishes a critical foundation for high-performance, low-cost 1.3 μm surface-emitting lasers. With continued advances in structure design, materials growth, and process integration, QD PCSELs are poised to impact data-center interconnects, sensing, and imaging, accelerating silicon photonics integration.",[23,126,28,128,28,132],{"style":127},"border:1px solid #6554e6; background:#2d3436; padding:0.9rem 1rem; border-radius:0.75rem; margin:0 0 1rem 0;",[12,129,131],{"style":130},"font-family:'Mi Sans','MiSans','MiSans-Regular',sans-serif; font-size:1.05rem; font-weight:600; margin:0 0 0.6rem 0;","Related Links",[12,133,135,136],{"style":134},"font-family:'Mi Sans','MiSans','MiSans-Regular',sans-serif; font-size:0.95rem; margin:0 0 0.4rem 0;","[1] Paper: ",[137,138,139],"a",{"href":139},"https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.562475",{"title":51,"searchDepth":52,"depth":52,"links":141},[],"2026-02-06","A triple-lattice photonic crystal enables the first room-temperature CW lasing of an InAs/GaAs QD PCSEL at 1.3 μm, demonstrating low threshold and narrow linewidth.",{"src":92},{},"/en/news/1p3um-quantum-dot-pcsel-first-room-temperature-cw-operation",{"title":73,"description":143},"en/news/1p3um-quantum-dot-pcsel-first-room-temperature-cw-operation",[66,68,150],"Quantum Dots","-Il1wIdTLWYt9pB3lz85lgZF9zq8YLfxXAK-JAJ7_xQ",{"id":153,"title":154,"badge":155,"body":156,"date":195,"description":196,"extension":56,"featured":57,"image":197,"meta":199,"navigation":61,"path":200,"pinned":57,"seo":201,"stem":202,"tags":203,"__hash__":205},"newsPostsEn/en/news/gclight-achieves-200mw-room-temperature-cw-output-in-1p3um-quantum-dot-pcsel.md","GC Light Achieves 200 mW Room-Temperature CW Output from a 1.3 μm Quantum-Dot PCSEL",{"label":7},{"type":9,"value":157,"toc":193},[158,161,164,167,170,175,177,182,184,190],[12,159,160],{"style":14},"    GC Light has recently reached a new milestone in the development of 1.3 μm InAs/GaAs quantum-dot photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs), achieving 200 mW of room-temperature continuous-wave (CW) output power and setting a new CW output benchmark among reported comparable 1.3 μm quantum-dot PCSEL devices.",[12,162,163],{"style":14},"    Single-mode laser chips operating at 1.3 μm are core light sources for high-speed optical communication modules and can be used to drive silicon-photonic modulators. This performance milestone indicates that, in terms of CW output power under single-mode operation, GC Light's PCSEL has begun to show the potential to surpass mainstream quantum-well distributed-feedback (DFB) lasers, further underscoring the promise of quantum-dot PCSELs for ultra-high-speed silicon-photonic interconnect modules.",[12,165,166],{"style":14},"    The 1.3 μm wavelength lies in the fiber O-band, offering near-zero chromatic dispersion together with relatively low fiber loss, which makes it particularly suitable for high-speed interconnect scenarios such as data centers and supercomputers. Today, most commercial single-mode CW light sources at this wavelength are based on InP quantum-well structures. However, due to material limitations and the constraints of narrow-ridge single-mode waveguides, their single-mode output power faces a physical ceiling and struggles to keep pace with the rising bandwidth demands of silicon-photonic interconnects.",[12,168,169],{"style":14},"    Quantum-dot materials, by contrast, provide stronger three-dimensional carrier confinement and atom-like discrete energy levels. As a result, quantum-dot lasers offer excellent temperature stability, along with stronger tolerance to optical feedback and radiation, enabling stable operation without active cooling or optical isolators. In addition, the GaAs material platform supports larger wafer sizes and lower material cost, helping reduce overall system cost. For these reasons, quantum-dot PCSELs are widely regarded as a promising light-source platform for next-generation AI compute clusters, pluggable optical modules in large-scale data centers, and co-packaged optics (CPO) interconnects.",[30,171],{"src":172,"alt":173,"className":174},"/img/pcsel_article_4_01.webp","Continuous output power curve",[35,36,95],[12,176,173],{"style":45},[30,178],{"src":179,"alt":180,"className":181},"/img/pcsel_article_4_02.webp","Optical spectrum",[35,36,95],[12,183,180],{"style":45},[12,185,186,187,189],{"style":14},"    GC Light has worked on quantum-dot PCSEL technology for many years. In 2019, the team first proposed a flat-band-enhanced quantum-dot PCSEL structure and demonstrated 13.3 mW of room-temperature CW output together with 150 mW of pulsed output, while comparable devices at the time were limited to roughly 2 mW and pulse-only operation. In 2025, the team reported the first room-temperature CW operation of a buried quantum-dot PCSEL in ",[100,188,102],{},", including a threshold current as low as 139 mA. Building on that result, continued optimization of quantum-dot epitaxy and photonic-crystal fabrication has now pushed CW output power to 200 mW, marking another important step toward practical GaAs-based quantum-dot PCSELs.",[12,191,192],{"style":14},"    The team will continue to optimize device structure and process flow, targeting 400 mW to 800 mW of CW output at 1310 nm while also advancing PCSEL development at 1550 nm, 1064 nm, and other wavelengths to provide more cost-effective, high-quality light sources for industry.",{"title":51,"searchDepth":52,"depth":52,"links":194},[],"2026-03-13","GC Light has raised the room-temperature CW output power of its reported 1.3 μm InAs/GaAs quantum-dot PCSEL to 200 mW, setting a new benchmark among comparable 1.3 μm devices.",{"src":198},"/img/pcsel_article_4_03.webp",{},"/en/news/gclight-achieves-200mw-room-temperature-cw-output-in-1p3um-quantum-dot-pcsel",{"title":154,"description":196},"en/news/gclight-achieves-200mw-room-temperature-cw-output-in-1p3um-quantum-dot-pcsel",[204,66,150],"Company News","IUEIoF1E3xjkC5FiMi1-HxBiJwCAHeONif_wEVIK39c",{"id":4,"title":5,"badge":207,"body":208,"date":54,"description":55,"extension":56,"featured":57,"image":231,"meta":232,"navigation":61,"path":62,"pinned":57,"seo":233,"stem":64,"tags":234,"__hash__":69},{"label":7},{"type":9,"value":209,"toc":229},[210,212,214,216,225,227],[12,211,15],{"style":14},[12,213,18],{"style":14},[12,215,21],{"style":14},[23,217,28,219,28,222],{"className":218},[26,27],[30,220],{"src":32,"alt":33,"className":221,"style":37},[35,36],[30,223],{"src":40,"alt":41,"className":224,"style":37},[35,36],[12,226,46],{"style":45},[12,228,49],{"style":14},{"title":51,"searchDepth":52,"depth":52,"links":230},[],{"src":59},{},{"title":5,"description":55},[66,67,68],{"id":236,"title":237,"badge":238,"body":240,"date":269,"description":270,"extension":56,"featured":57,"image":271,"meta":273,"navigation":61,"path":274,"pinned":57,"seo":275,"stem":276,"tags":277,"__hash__":280},"newsPostsEn/en/news/gclight-semiconductor-wins-national-disruptive-innovation-competition-award.md","Our Project Wins the National Disruptive Innovation Competition Award",{"label":239},"Award",{"type":9,"value":241,"toc":267},[242,245,248,253,255,258,261,264],[12,243,244],{"style":14},"    From December 10–12, 2025, the National Finals of the 14th China Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition – Disruptive Technology Innovation Track were held in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou. The event was organized by the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and co-hosted by the Hangzhou Municipal People’s Government, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology, and the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Science and Technology.",[12,246,247],{"style":14},"    Our independently developed “High-Performance Photonic Crystal Laser” project advanced through open selection, sector competitions, and the national finals, ultimately winning the Outstanding Award—the top honor of the competition.",[30,249],{"src":250,"alt":251,"className":252},"img/news_article_4_02.webp","Hangzhou GCLight Semiconductor Co., Ltd. received the award",[35,36,95],[12,254,251],{"style":45},[12,256,257],{"style":14},"    Since its launch in August 2025, the competition attracted 891 high-quality projects nationwide across six frontier fields: future materials, future manufacturing, future information, future energy, future space, and future health. After multiple rounds of evaluation, 163 disruptive technology projects advanced to the national finals.",[12,259,260],{"style":14},"    The competition was highly competitive, with expert judges from industry, investment institutions, and the research community evaluating originality, engineering maturity, and market outlook. Our project’s success underscores its disruptive technology capability, engineering execution, and long-term growth potential in the laser field.",[12,262,263],{"style":14},"    Photonic crystal lasers, as a key next-generation semiconductor laser technology, can simultaneously deliver high power, small divergence, and narrow linewidth. They can break conventional semiconductor laser limits, enabling single-chip output above 100 W with divergence below 1°. This technology has disruptive impact in intelligent sensing, biomedical applications, LiDAR, optical pumping, and quantum technologies. Our project focuses on core chip design, device structure optimization, and engineering implementation, establishing a complete and independent technology roadmap.",[12,265,266],{"style":14},"    This award not only recognizes the project’s technical advancement and commercial value, but also marks a milestone in our progress toward high-end laser sources. Going forward, we will continue to invest in R&D, accelerate product engineering and industrialization, and advance large-scale adoption of high-performance domestic laser technologies to support high-quality growth in China’s optoelectronics industry.",{"title":51,"searchDepth":52,"depth":52,"links":268},[],"2026-02-07","Our high-performance photonic crystal laser project won the national outstanding award, highlighting both technical breakthroughs and commercialization potential.",{"src":272},"img/news_article_4_01.webp",{},"/en/news/gclight-semiconductor-wins-national-disruptive-innovation-competition-award",{"title":237,"description":270},"en/news/gclight-semiconductor-wins-national-disruptive-innovation-competition-award",[204,278,279],"Awards","Photonic Crystal Laser","5u6rSdgyraginKP-lOque-kaSJGuibM0-97oVqhZWhA",{"id":282,"title":283,"badge":284,"body":285,"date":142,"description":398,"extension":56,"featured":61,"image":399,"meta":400,"navigation":61,"path":401,"pinned":61,"seo":402,"stem":403,"tags":404,"__hash__":406},"newsPostsEn/en/news/semiconductor-today-reports-pcsel-research-progress.md","Semiconductor Today Reports Our Latest PCSEL Research Progress",{"label":75},{"type":9,"value":286,"toc":396},[287,298,304,309,311,314,317,320,325,330,333,338,343,346,351,356,364,369,374,377],[12,288,289,290,293,294,297],{"style":14},"    In February 2024, our team achieved a major advance in photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs), introducing a triple-lattice structure and realizing a low-threshold 1550 nm PCSEL. The results were published in ",[100,291,292],{},"Light: Science & Applications",", Vol. 13, Article 44 (2024). The internationally recognized semiconductor magazine ",[100,295,296],{},"Semiconductor Today"," featured the work in a News Feature titled “Triple-lattice photonic crystal laser.” The report noted: “Light around 1.55 µm experiences minimal transmission loss in optical fibers and allows higher eye-safe power. Conventional lasers in this band suffer strong interband absorption and therefore poorer performance. PCSEL structures provide strong optical feedback to overcome this limitation, lowering threshold and increasing output power.”",[12,299,300,301,303],{"style":14},"    Headquartered in the UK, ",[100,302,296],{}," is a widely recognized industry magazine focused on global semiconductor research advances and the latest industry developments.",[30,305],{"src":306,"alt":307,"className":308},"img/pcsel_article_1_01.webp","Semiconductor Today report screenshot",[35,36,95],[12,310,307],{"style":45},[12,312,313],{"style":14},"    A PCSEL uses a two-dimensional photonic crystal as the resonant cavity and relies on diffraction of band-edge modes to achieve surface emission. Because these modes typically have large mode areas, PCSELs exhibit a smaller far-field divergence angle than conventional communication lasers such as VCSELs and DFB lasers. In addition, PCSELs form their cavity via in-plane feedback from the 2D photonic crystal, eliminating the need for the dozens of epitaxial DBR pairs required by VCSELs for vertical feedback. These characteristics make PCSELs highly competitive in performance and cost.",[12,315,316],{"style":14},"    However, key challenges remain, including large device size and high threshold current. A high threshold current increases power consumption and limits modulation speed. This limitation arises from the distributed-feedback mechanism of 2D photonic crystal cavities, which requires a large number of lattice periods to provide sufficiently strong optical feedback. This makes it difficult to shrink the cavity and reduce the threshold.",[12,318,319],{"style":14},"    In photonic crystal lasers, smaller cavities lead to greater optical leakage and thus higher modal loss. Among cavity designs, the triple-lattice photonic crystal structure offers a unique advantage by delivering the lowest optical loss for the same cavity size. In this work, we propose a triple-lattice photonic crystal to enhance in-cavity feedback and demonstrate a continuous-wave, electrically pumped InP-based PCSEL operating at 1.55 μm. This provides a new route to shrinking cavity size and lowering threshold, with significant potential for high-speed optical communications, LiDAR, and related applications.",[30,321],{"src":322,"alt":323,"className":324},"img/pcsel_article_1_02.webp","Mode loss for different photonic crystal cavities",[35,36,95],[12,326,327,328],{"style":45},"Mode loss for different photonic crystal cavities. Source: ",[100,329,292],{},[12,331,332],{"style":14},"    If we call a photonic crystal with a single hole per unit cell a single-lattice crystal, then a triple-lattice cavity can be regarded as a structural nesting of three single-lattice crystals. By adjusting the relative offsets between these lattices, effects unreachable with a single lattice can be achieved. In this report, the lattice offset was set to half a wavelength so that the round-trip feedback path becomes an integer multiple of the wavelength, enabling constructive interference. From the perspective of coupled-wave theory, optical feedback strength is governed by coupling between 180° counter-propagating waves and depends on the second-order Fourier component of the refractive index distribution. Our study reveals its functional dependence on lattice offset. Compared with a single lattice, the triple lattice can provide up to a threefold enhancement in 180° optical feedback, suppressing lateral leakage and enabling smaller cavities and lower thresholds.",[30,334],{"src":335,"alt":336,"className":337},"img/pcsel_article_1_03.webp","Working mechanism of the triple-lattice photonic crystal cavity",[35,36,95],[12,339,340,341],{"style":45},"Working mechanism of the triple-lattice photonic crystal cavity. Source: ",[100,342,292],{},[12,344,345],{"style":14},"    The device adopts an all-semiconductor structure compatible with conventional DFB processing and is fabricated using MOCVD regrowth. The epitaxial stack, including multiple quantum wells, is first grown on an InP substrate. Electron-beam lithography and dry etching are then used to define sub-100-nm photonic crystal holes. Finally, a second epitaxial regrowth fills the holes and overgrows a p-doped layer to complete the device.",[30,347],{"src":348,"alt":349,"className":350},"img/pcsel_article_1_04.webp","1550 nm triple-lattice PCSEL device structure",[35,36,95],[12,352,353,354],{"style":45},"1550 nm triple-lattice PCSEL device structure. Source: ",[100,355,292],{},[12,357,358,359,363],{"style":14},"    As a core operating characteristic, the device shows a stable lasing peak at 1.55 μm under continuous-wave operation, in excellent agreement with the designed Γ",[360,361,362],"sub",{},"2"," band-edge mode. Notably, no parasitic resonances were observed over a broad spectral scan (1350–1650 nm), confirming that the triple-lattice structure successfully locks the oscillation mode to the target band.",[30,365],{"src":366,"alt":367,"className":368},"img/pcsel_article_1_05.webp","1550 nm triple-lattice PCSEL operating characteristics",[35,36,95],[12,370,371,372],{"style":45},"1550 nm triple-lattice PCSEL operating characteristics. Source: ",[100,373,292],{},[12,375,376],{"style":14},"    PCSELs are a major focus in the semiconductor laser community and can be applied to optical communications, laser pumping, sensing, and medical systems. Yet, large device size and high threshold current still limit practical adoption in high-speed optical communications. In this work, we introduce a new triple-lattice photonic crystal cavity and demonstrate a continuous-wave, electrically pumped 1.55 μm PCSEL based on this structure. We believe the results open a new path toward smaller, lower-threshold PCSELs and can enable future applications in high-speed optical communications. The work also deepens our understanding of feedback mechanisms in photonic crystal cavities and provides new degrees of freedom for cavity design.",[23,378,28,379,28,381,28,386],{"style":127},[12,380,131],{"style":130},[12,382,135,383],{"style":134},[137,384,385],{"href":385},"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01387-4",[12,387,389,390,392,393],{"style":388},"font-family:'Mi Sans','MiSans','MiSans-Regular',sans-serif; font-size:0.95rem; margin:0;","[2] ",[100,391,296],{}," report: ",[137,394,395],{"href":395},"https://semiconductor-today.com/news_items/2024/feb/ucas-230224.shtml",{"title":51,"searchDepth":52,"depth":52,"links":397},[],"Semiconductor Today reports our triple-lattice photonic crystal structure and low-threshold 1550 nm PCSEL results, published in Light: Science & Applications.",{"src":306},{},"/en/news/semiconductor-today-reports-pcsel-research-progress",{"title":283,"description":398},"en/news/semiconductor-today-reports-pcsel-research-progress",[66,405,68],"Industry Report","egWKu3CWo0HZwPBdw8wapRCxMJ5EqX-I2rVmzCchL0U",{"id":408,"title":409,"badge":410,"body":412,"date":269,"description":514,"extension":56,"featured":57,"image":515,"meta":516,"navigation":61,"path":517,"pinned":57,"seo":518,"stem":519,"tags":520,"__hash__":523},"newsPostsEn/en/news/what-is-pcsel-next-generation-high-performance-semiconductor-laser.md","What Is PCSEL: The Next-Generation High-Performance Semiconductor Laser",{"label":411},"Technology",{"type":9,"value":413,"toc":505},[414,417,422,427,429,432,438,443,445,448,452,455,460,480,485,488,492,495,499,502],[12,415,416],{"style":14},"    A long-standing challenge in the laser industry is the trade-off between compact semiconductor lasers and high-brightness light sources. Semiconductor lasers are efficient and small but suffer from limited single-mode power and larger far-field divergence, resulting in low brightness. Gas and solid-state lasers can achieve higher brightness, but with bulky systems and lower electro-optical efficiency. As applications demand greater miniaturization and integration, this conflict becomes more pronounced. The rapid development of photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs) offers a compelling solution by fundamentally reshaping the cavity structure of semiconductor lasers and dramatically lifting the brightness ceiling.",[418,419,421],"h2",{"id":420},"_1-operating-principle-coherent-oscillation-in-a-2d-plane","1. Operating Principle: Coherent Oscillation in a 2D Plane",[30,423],{"src":424,"alt":425,"className":426},"img/pcsel_article_3_01.webp","Conventional semiconductor lasers",[35,36,95],[12,428,425],{"style":45},[12,430,431],{"style":14},"    The key to PCSELs lies in their unique photonic crystal resonator. Unlike edge-emitting lasers (Fabry–Pérot or 1D grating feedback) and VCSELs (vertical DBR feedback), PCSELs use a thin photonic crystal layer etched with a periodic array of nanoholes.",[12,433,434,435,437],{"style":14},"    The optical field is confined to in-plane propagation and is concentrated within the photonic crystal layer (resonance) and the active region (gain). As waves propagate in different in-plane directions, the air holes couple these waves like micro diffraction centers, forming a large-area two-dimensional standing wave. This provides the physical basis for a large cavity and single-mode operation. From a band-structure perspective, band-edge states with near-zero group velocity yield a high density of optical states, enabling high-Q resonances. By selecting the lattice constant, devices can operate at the Γ",[360,436,362],{}," band-edge mode, which offers optimal surface emission.",[30,439],{"src":440,"alt":441,"className":442},"img/pcsel_article_3_02.webp","PCSEL device structure",[35,36,95],[12,444,441],{"style":45},[12,446,447],{"style":14},"    Mode selectivity is strongly influenced by photonic crystal hole geometry. Suppressing higher-order modes and stabilizing the fundamental mode is essential for high beam quality. Mainstream structures include circular and triangular single-lattice designs, Kyoto University’s double-lattice structure, and our proposed triple-lattice and T-shaped designs. The core strategy is to increase diffraction loss for higher-order modes and achieve precise fabrication that matches design intent.",[418,449,451],{"id":450},"_2-performance-advantages-multi-dimensional-breakthroughs","2. Performance Advantages: Multi-Dimensional Breakthroughs",[12,453,454],{"style":14},"    PCSELs retain the low cost, compact size, and high efficiency of semiconductor lasers while delivering superior brightness and narrow linewidth, addressing key pain points in advanced laser applications.",[456,457,459],"h3",{"id":458},"brightness-leap","Brightness Leap",[12,461,462,463,467,468,471,472,467,474,476,477,479],{"style":14},"    Brightness is a critical metric for laser processing and long-range sensing. Conventional high-power semiconductor lasers typically deliver brightness below 0.1 GW·cm",[464,465,466],"sup",{},"−2","·sr",[464,469,470],{},"−1",", while PCSELs achieve an order-of-magnitude improvement. Under continuous-wave operation, a 3 mm diameter PCSEL can output 50 W with brightness around 1 GW·cm",[464,473,466],{},[464,475,470],{},", enabling compact metal processing comparable to CO",[360,478,362],{}," and fiber lasers. Theory suggests that continuous power can scale to hundreds of watts or even kilowatts, highlighting the potential to replace bulky high-brightness systems.",[30,481],{"src":482,"alt":483,"className":484},"img/pcsel_article_3_03.webp","PCSEL performance: compact metal processing and sub-kHz linewidth",[35,36,95],[12,486,487],{"style":45},"PCSEL performance: (a) compact metal processing (b) sub-kHz linewidth",[456,489,491],{"id":490},"beam-shaping","Beam Shaping",[12,493,494],{"style":14},"    By tailoring the position and size of air holes, PCSELs can directly control the emitted field and output direction. They can achieve ultra-small divergence without external collimation. With inverse design, PCSELs can emit complex beam profiles, effectively integrating diffractive optics into the cavity. Buried photonic crystal structures also enable integration with metalens processes for advanced beam control.",[456,496,498],{"id":497},"a-versatile-all-rounder","A Versatile “All-Rounder”",[12,500,501],{"style":14},"    Since their invention in 1999, PCSELs have expanded from the near-infrared into other wavelengths. On the short-wavelength side, watt-level blue output (~430 nm) has been achieved with GaN. On the long-wavelength side, mid-infrared emission has been demonstrated, including multi-watt output in combination with quantum cascade lasers. Thanks to large photon numbers in the lasing mode, PCSEL linewidths can reach the kHz regime—far narrower than MHz-class DFB lasers—while maintaining high output power. High-peak-power nanosecond pulses can be generated by large pulsed injection, and direct high-speed modulation enables more compact optical communication systems without optical amplifiers.",[12,503,504],{"style":14},"    As PCSEL performance continues to improve and micro/nanofabrication matures, large-scale production and commercialization are becoming feasible, opening new application opportunities. Over two decades, PCSELs have evolved from a laboratory concept to a technology with disruptive potential. Challenges remain—such as scaling single-mode device size for kilowatt-class continuous-wave power and achieving high performance across more material systems and wavelengths—but PCSELs are poised to play a major role in quantum technologies, space communications, laser fusion, and beyond.",{"title":51,"searchDepth":52,"depth":52,"links":506},[507,508],{"id":420,"depth":52,"text":421},{"id":450,"depth":52,"text":451,"children":509},[510,512,513],{"id":458,"depth":511,"text":459},3,{"id":490,"depth":511,"text":491},{"id":497,"depth":511,"text":498},"A technical overview of PCSELs (photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers), explaining their operating principles and advantages in brightness, linewidth, and beam shaping.",{"src":424},{},"/en/news/what-is-pcsel-next-generation-high-performance-semiconductor-laser",{"title":409,"description":514},"en/news/what-is-pcsel-next-generation-high-performance-semiconductor-laser",[521,68,522],"Technology Overview","Semiconductor Lasers","Jg6KimK4XKu_nC9k1sJ5w8dqdgsVcZp5vjvZ_pPuv1g",1776160025907]