Massive-scale spatial multiplexing of multimode VCSELs with a 3D-printed photonic lantern

Massive-scale spatial multiplexing of multimode VCSELs with a 3D-printed photonic lantern | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Massive-scale spatial multiplexing of multimode VCSELs with a 3D-printed photonic lantern Yoav Dana, Ksenia Shukhin, Yehudith Garcia, Aleksei Kukin, Baruch Kliot, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7000537/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Incoherent beam combining is a widely exploited approach in high-power laser systems due to its simplicity, stability and scalability, avoiding the need for frequency, phase and polarization locking. However, efficiently coupling light from large array sources, such as multi-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays into a multimode fiber (MMF) of the same modal dimension for preserving brightness, remains challenging. This work introduces a novel solution for incoherent and efficient source collection: a 3D-printed micro-scale photonic lantern (PL) spatial multiplexer, designed to multiplex multiple multi-mode sources directly into MMFs supporting a matching number of aggregate modes. We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of three PL devices accepting 7, 19, and 37 multimode VCSELs having 6 spatial modes fabricated using nanoscale 3D printing directly on the laser chip output apertures. These PL devices enable direct transmission and coupling from VCSEL arrays to MMFs, achieving coupling efficiency as low as -0.6dB for the 19-MM PL and -0.8dB for the 37-MM PL when coupled to a step-index MMF with a 50 μm core diameter and NA = 0.22. Comprehensive experimental results demonstrate efficient power delivery, preserved brightness, and alignment-free integration, highlighting the potential of 3D-printed PL devices as compact and scalable solutions for high-power laser systems and other optical applications as communications. Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Other photonics/Micro-optics Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Optical materials and structures/Polymers Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Applied optics/Fibre optics and optical communications Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Applied optics/Integrated optics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supplamentry.pdf Massive-scale spatial multiplexing of multimode VCSELs with a 3D-printed photonic lantern: Supplementary Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7000537","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":487536492,"identity":"4c864342-6813-484c-bf94-437278aea2e0","order_by":0,"name":"Yoav Dana","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABCklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYNACNiBmb2BgSChgSGBgONgAEuPhI6iF5wBQiwGSFjaCWiSAihnAWpAEsQGD483PJBjK7PL4Z75O/PDAgCHP4ODhBoYfNQwyOLWcOWYmwXAuuVjidu5mCaDDig0OHGxg7DmG22EGNxKMDRjbmBMbbuduAGlJ3ADUwsDbgE9L+meglvrE+TfPbv4B08L4F6+WHMMHjG2HEzfc4N0Gt4UZny2SZ84UPkg4dzxx45ncbRYJBhKJM4FaDssck8Cphe94+4YDH8qqE+cdP7v55o8Km8S+G8cfPnxTY2PPj0OLwgEgkYDgSwDRAYYDYAYOIN+AIcSPKTQKRsEoGAUjGwAAhyBhiwIo0xsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0772-146X","institution":"Hebrew University of Jerusalem","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yoav","middleName":"","lastName":"Dana","suffix":""},{"id":487536493,"identity":"a15e7661-e61c-4843-ae9c-b61db31143d7","order_by":1,"name":"Ksenia Shukhin","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3272-7461","institution":"Hebrew University of Jerusalem","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ksenia","middleName":"","lastName":"Shukhin","suffix":""},{"id":487536494,"identity":"7c1b30b5-cf5d-467d-9679-163274a649aa","order_by":2,"name":"Yehudith Garcia","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Applied Physics Department - Hebrew University of Jerusalem","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yehudith","middleName":"","lastName":"Garcia","suffix":""},{"id":487536495,"identity":"bb51ae8f-d170-4d64-9c07-9e16bf635703","order_by":3,"name":"Aleksei Kukin","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hebrew University of Jerusalem","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Aleksei","middleName":"","lastName":"Kukin","suffix":""},{"id":487536496,"identity":"248741e5-3ca1-4c5d-87a9-fe8d6e080054","order_by":4,"name":"Baruch Kliot","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Civan Advanced Technologies ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Baruch","middleName":"","lastName":"Kliot","suffix":""},{"id":487536497,"identity":"d0ee13b6-d23d-4f57-a2d4-7c41230ffbdb","order_by":5,"name":"Michaela Peer","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Civan Advanced Technologies ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michaela","middleName":"","lastName":"Peer","suffix":""},{"id":487536498,"identity":"ba3c0b17-998e-4993-a0b1-4d97e585e25f","order_by":6,"name":"Ran Vered","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Civan Advanced Technologies ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ran","middleName":"","lastName":"Vered","suffix":""},{"id":487536499,"identity":"c96bea0f-ec69-475e-9529-daf926795b58","order_by":7,"name":"Ariel Roizman","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Civan Advanced Technologies ltd","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ariel","middleName":"","lastName":"Roizman","suffix":""},{"id":487536500,"identity":"bb975111-ed9e-4554-8427-811400d32912","order_by":8,"name":"Dan Marom","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The Hebrew University of Jerusalem","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dan","middleName":"","lastName":"Marom","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-29 04:00:17","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7000537/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7000537/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70458-4","type":"published","date":"2026-03-09T04:00:00+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104379395,"identity":"5e7bf9d7-a7b3-401e-91f3-2922c538e053","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 07:12:34","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":7858920,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"NPHOT20250601294.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7000537/v1_covered_d6662d23-e0d7-434f-ab4b-d2e41ae4afc4.pdf"},{"id":88294508,"identity":"1a87fa2c-883c-4cba-8d28-fb4a4dd05923","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-05 03:09:30","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":22839226,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Massive-scale spatial multiplexing of multimode VCSELs with a 3D-printed photonic lantern: Supplementary","description":"","filename":"Supplamentry.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7000537/v1/23eeea82423112618f22a41d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Massive-scale spatial multiplexing of multimode VCSELs with a 3D-printed photonic lantern","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7000537/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7000537/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Incoherent beam combining is a widely exploited approach in high-power laser systems due to its simplicity, stability and scalability, avoiding the need for frequency, phase and polarization locking. However, efficiently coupling light from large array sources, such as multi-mode vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays into a multimode fiber (MMF) of the same modal dimension for preserving brightness, remains challenging.\r\n\r\nThis work introduces a novel solution for incoherent and efficient source collection: a 3D-printed micro-scale photonic lantern (PL) spatial multiplexer, designed to multiplex multiple multi-mode sources directly into MMFs supporting a matching number of aggregate modes. We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of three PL devices accepting 7, 19, and 37 multimode VCSELs having 6 spatial modes fabricated using nanoscale 3D printing directly on the laser chip output apertures. These PL devices enable direct transmission and coupling from VCSEL arrays to MMFs, achieving coupling efficiency as low as -0.6dB for the 19-MM PL and -0.8dB for the 37-MM PL when coupled to a step-index MMF with a 50 μm core diameter and NA = 0.22.\r\n\r\nComprehensive experimental results demonstrate efficient power delivery, preserved brightness, and alignment-free integration, highlighting the potential of 3D-printed PL devices as compact and scalable solutions for high-power laser systems and other optical applications as communications.","manuscriptTitle":"Massive-scale spatial multiplexing of multimode VCSELs with a 3D-printed photonic lantern","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-05 03:09:25","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7000537/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-communications","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"NCOMMS","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature Communications](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://mts-ncomms.nature.com/","title":"Nature Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature Communications","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"2defb90c-3f8c-444a-875e-7c757c7fbb86","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 5th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":51763767,"name":"Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Other photonics/Micro-optics"},{"id":51763768,"name":"Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Optical materials and structures/Polymers"},{"id":51763769,"name":"Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Applied optics/Fibre optics and optical communications"},{"id":51763770,"name":"Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Applied optics/Integrated optics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-11T07:11:53+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7000537","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70458-4","journal":{"identity":"nature-communications","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Nature Communications"},"publishedOn":"2026-03-09 04:00:00","publishedOnDateReadable":"March 9th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-05 03:09:25","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41467-026-70458-4","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70458-4","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7000537","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7000537","identity":"rs-7000537","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}