CN
lEEE Nick Holonyak, Jr. Medal for Semiconductor Optoelectronic Technologies
Sponsored by Friends of Nick Holonyak, Jr.
Constance J. chang-Hasnain and Fumio Koyama
For pioneering contributions to vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) and VCSEL-based photonics for optical communi cations and sensing
Connie Jui-Hua Chang-Hasnain and Fumio Koyama laid the foundation for VCSEL photonics,resulting in critical breakthroughs and opening doors to industrial applications that have had a significant impact on high-speed optical interconnects and optical sensing.With more than 2.1 billion devices deployed. VCSELs are by far the most pervasive type oflaser today. Chang Hasnain and Koyama mostly conducted independent research but they collaborated and infuenced each other's research They also worked closely to organize international education programs and conferences such as iNO. Their seminal work on the fndamentals and new functionalities of VCSELs created technology breakthroughs with lasting impact, Koyama realized the first room-temperature continuous wave (CW) operation of VCSELs in 1988, igniting research activities worldwide.Without his contributions, the realization of room temperature operation for VCSELs would have faced significant delays. Furthermore. his meticulous measurements of laser linewidth, intensity noise polarization control,and single-mode charcteristics played a pivotal role in achieving CW operation. Simultaneously, Chang Hasnain provided invaluable theoretical guidance on the structure of transverse and longitudinal modes and demonstrated the first successful multimode fiber transmission.The combined eforts of Chang-Hasnain and Kovama established the foundational principles of VCSELs, Tunable VCSELs, particularly tunable micm-electromechanical systems (EMS) VCSELs,have opened up numerous applications, including micron-level depth measurement in swept-source optical coherence tomography with implications in ophthalmology, dermatology, cardiology and gastroenterology, as well as in biomedical and pharmaceutical analysis.In 1995,Chang-Hasnain demonstrated the first widely tunable,swept MEMS VCSEL,and she also pioneered the development of HCG-based MEMS-VCSEL with the fastest swept speed, In addition, Chang-Hasnain realized the first VCSEL arrays at 940nm for 3D imaging in 1998, which are now deployed in smartphones worldwide for facial recognition applications. Multi-Mode Fiber (MMF) MM-VCSEL transmission has now been widely adopted in data centers and supercomputers. In short, VCSELs play a critically important role in many applications, including optical communications, sensing systems, biophotonics, medical imaging,consumer electronics,and LIDAR with a prjected market value of over $10 billion.The field of VCSELs owes much of its vibrancy to the groundbreaking work of Chang-Hasnain and Kovama.
An IEEE Fellow,Chang-Hasnain is the Whinnery Chair Professor Emerita, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California. USA.
An lEEE Life Fellow, Koyama is Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Institute of lechnology,Yokohama, Japan.