Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are the ideal optical sources for data communication and sensing. In data communication, large data rates combined with excellent energy efficiency and temperature stability have been achieved based on advanced device design and modulation formats. VCSELs are also promising sources for photonic integrated circuits due to their small footprint and low power consumption. Also, VCSELs are commonly used for a wide variety of applications in the consumer electronics market. These applications range from laser mice to three-dimensional (3D) sensing and imaging, including various 3D movement detections, such as gesture recognition or face recognition. Novel VCSEL types will include metastructures, exhibiting additional unique properties, of largest importance for next-generation data communication, sensing, and photonic integrated circuits.

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Extremely energy-efficient oxide-confined high-speed 850 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for optical interconnects are presented. Error-free performance at 17 and 25 Gb/s via a 100 m multimode fiber link is demonstrated at record high dissipation-power-efficiencies of up to 69 fJ/bit ͑Ͻ0.1 mW/ Gbps͒ and 99 fJ/bit, respectively. These are the most power efficient high-speed directly modulated light sources reported to date. The total energy-to-data ratio is 83 fJ/bit at 25 °C and reduces to 81 fJ/bit at 55 °C. These results were obtained without adjustment of driving conditions. A high D-factor of 12.0 GHz/ ͑mA͒ 0.5 and a K-factor of 0.41 ns are measured.

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We investigate the dynamics of a Bose-Einstein condensate interacting with two non-interfering and counterpropagating modes of a ring resonator. Superfluid, supersolid and dynamic phases are identified experimentally and theoretically. The supersolid phase is obtained for sufficiently equal pump strengths for the two modes. In this regime we observe the emergence of a steady state with crystalline order, which spontaneously breaks the continuous translational symmetry of the system. The supersolidity of this state is demonstrated by the conservation of global phase coherence at the superfluid to supersolid phase transition. Above a critical pump asymmetry the system evolves into a dynamic run-away instability commonly known as collective atomic recoil lasing. We present a phase diagram and characterize the individual phases by comparing theoretical predictions with experimental observations.