The company's "Accelerated Manufacturing for PCSEL Packaging Solutions" (AMPPS) project adds critical manufacturing capability to Vector Photonics' production process, paving the way for the industry's first high-power, high-brightness, large-area surface-emitting laser platforms optimized for data center applications and integration into silicon photonics.
Executive Director Dr. Richard Taylor comments: “As global demand for high-bandwidth optical interconnects accelerates, driven by AI, current laser supply chains are constrained by thermal bottlenecks, performance limitations, and reliance on a narrow set of device and package technologies. The AMPPS project directly addresses this need by exploring novel manufacturable package architectures that improve performance, reduce waste, and increase supply chain resilience across multiple growing UK sectors.”
PCSELs are ideally positioned to provide optical and photonics integrated communications in next-generation networks. PCSELs improve system performance through their modal purity, low divergence, and efficient coupling across various platforms. Vector Photonics' new packaging initiative will enable PCSEL technology to overcome real-world system-level limitations. It will provide packaged prototypes, thermally optimized mounting concepts, process flow documentation, and design kits.
Dr. Taylor concludes: “Our AMPPS program strengthens the UK’s position in global photonics value chains, accelerates the commercialization of PCSEL technology, and lays the foundation for the future growth of a resource-efficient and resilient UK-based manufacturing sector for high-performance optical communications.”
Vector Photonics will be present at the largest optical communications event in Europe, ECOC, which will be held in Malaga (Spain) from September 21 to 23, 2026, at FYCMA.
