News: Optoelectronics
2 September 2026
Vector Photonics exhibiting at ECOC 2026
Vector Photonics Ltd of the West of Scotland Science Park — which was spun off from the University of Glasgow in 2020, and is pioneering the use of photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSEL) in secure communications — is exhibiting on stand 1468 at the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC 2026) in Malaga, Spain (20–24 September). The firm will discuss how its proven PCSEL technology can eliminate communications bottlenecks in AI data centers that are threatening to restrict performance.
“Optical interconnect performance will determine the future of AI system scaling, making the laser a critical component,” says CEO Dr Richard Taylor. “Without a new laser platform, AI networking will become the critical bottleneck,” he adds. “PCSELs outperform other lasers when it comes to brightness, beam quality, packaging, testing and scalability, and are therefore well positioned as the optical communications technology of choice for AI and data centers.”
Compared to other laser architectures including vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and distributed feedback (DFB) lasers, PCSELs can possess key advantages to scalability, modulation, interconnect reach, and channel scaling, allowing them to overcome challenges of the incumbent technology, says the firm. PCSELs create a single platform that simplifies supply chains and gives data-center operators a more efficient and scalable solution as demand for data continues to grow, it adds.
PCSELs are also an enabling technology for other growth sectors such as free-space optical communications (FSOC) and light detection & ranging (LiDAR). Earlier this year, Vector Photonics became the first company to demonstrate free-space optical communications using PCSELs outside the lab. The firm is now positioning to scale-up its technology for industrial and commercial deployment.
Vector Photonics to demo PCSEL optical comms technology in Taiwan
Vector Photonics developing packaging to speed adoption of PCSELs
Vector Photonics demos free-space optical communication using PCSEL outside of a lab
