A high-power laser array based on quantum physical properties for 3D sensing and displays and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDARs).

There is a widespread need for high power, narrow divergence, and high coherence lasers. Accomplishing this requires phase locking, a challenging method combining multiple laser outputs. Previous approaches to address this issue can be applied only to a one-dimensional laser array or involve complicated designs, making it challenging to package densely or downsize. However, the development of scalable, single-mode high-powered lasers is crucial for developing light detection and ranging (LiDAR) applications used in technologies such as self-driving cars.

The inventors take advantage of the physical concept of supersymmetry (SUSY), a theory derived from quantum mechanics. While the physical nature of other non-SUSY systems results in multiple competing laser modes (making single-mode laser arrays challenging), applying supersymmetry to laser arrays overcomes this limitation and allows the lasers' power to focus into a single mode, high-powered system.

A SUSY-inspired microlaser array amplifies a single laser mode, providing a coherent high-powered signal. The design is scalable to any number of dimensions. It also does not require optical mode leakage communication between optical elements – a considerable simplification to existing single-mode technologies. This technology applies supersymmetry partners to a microlaser array. It has been experimentally demonstrated as a two-dimensional array and it can theoretically be applied to three-dimensional arrays as well.

• First instance of supersymmetry (SUSY) techniques for 2D laser arrays (all previous arrays were limited to 1D)
• Twenty-five times (25x) increase in power output compared to single laser
• >100x power density compared to that of a single-mode laser array
• Scalable design down to the order of microns