News: Optoelectronics
19 September 2025
Honda Prize awarded to surface-emitting laser pioneer Dr Kenichi Iga
The Honda Foundation has awarded the 2025 Honda Prize to Dr Kenichi Iga (honorary professor at Institute of Science Tokyo and 18th president of former Tokyo Institute of Technology) for his conception of the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) and pioneering contributions to its basic research and practical application.
Dr. Kenichi Iga.
Compared with conventional semiconductor lasers which emit light horizontally relative to the substrate, VCSELs emits light vertically, making them more compact, and producing less interference among neighboring modes, which enables high-density integration.
Also, compared with conventional edge-emitting lasers, surface-emitting lasers exhibit stable oscillation at a single wavelength, ease of mass production, the ability to continuously vary wavelength, and low power consumption. Surface-emitting lasers are indispensable in short-range LiDAR, which precisely maps a vehicle’s surroundings (ranging from tens of centimeters to several meters).
High-density placement enables simultaneous multi-point emission over a wide area, allowing instantaneous scanning. Furthermore, minimal wavelength variation is key to enabling high-precision measurement. Additionally, the compact and thin form factor facilitates easy integration into bumpers, mirrors and doors, and its low power consumption is also considered to be an excellent characteristic for automotive components.
Iga proposed the concept of the surface-emitting laser in 1977. In 1988, Dr Fumio Koyama (currently distinguished professor/professor emeritus at the Institute of Integrated Research, Institute of Science Tokyo), a student of Iga’s, succeeded in achieving continuous-wave operations at room temperature, paving the way for practical implementation.
Since then, researchers worldwide have engaged in surface-emitting laser research, with related papers now exceeding 60,000 globally. Worldwide adoption and development efforts by numerous companies have led to commercialization of the technology, enabling ultra-high-speed, high-capacity parallel communication in data centers and LANs, energy savings, 3D facial recognition in smartphones, and expansion into LiDAR.
The Honda Prize award ceremony is being held at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo on 17 November. In addition to the prize medal and diploma, the laureate is awarded a total of ¥10m.
