Vector Photonics has received a £280k Innovate UK government grant to support project LOCAL, validating its unique PCSEL (Photonic Crystal Surface Emitting Lasers), all-semiconductor laser technology for use in datacomms applications. The £280k grant comes from Innovate UK’s Sustainable Innovation Fund, run in collaboration with the University of Glasgow.

Vector Photonics CEO, Neil Martin, said, “The government grant clearly demonstrates the strategic importance of our PCSEL technology to the UK and the world-wide photonics industry. Project LOCAL allows Vector Photonics to focus on Cloud Datacentre applications – a huge growth market driven by the proliferation of mobile devices, Internet of Things (IoT) and the 5G roll-out.”

Project LOCAL’s full title, Lasers for Communications Applications, will see Vector Photonics’ PCSELs used in data-centre transceivers. However, PCSEL technology is equally applicable to LiDAR, mobile consumer, biometric and sensing markets, where semiconductor lasers enable critical, new functionality.