Hebrew University Researchers Achieve Record Breaking Spatial Multiplexing Using Microscopic 3D Printed Photonic Lanterns

Hebrew University researchers achieve a breakthrough in laser power, using 3D-printed photonic lanterns to multiplex 37 lasers into a single optical fiber.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 10, 2026, 11:41 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Microscale Innovation in Optical Beam Combining

A research team at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has engineered a microscopic 3D-printed device that solves a fundamental bottleneck in high-power laser delivery. Led by Ph.D. student Yoav Dana and Professor Dan M. Marom, the team created a "photonic lantern" capable of merging light from dozens of semiconductor lasers into a single multimode optical fiber. This development represents a significant leap in system miniaturization, providing a path toward more efficient and compact photonic applications where delivering massive optical power through thin fibers is essential.

Breaking the Multimode Input Barrier

Traditional photonic lanterns have historically been limited to single-mode inputs, making them incompatible with the multimode outputs common in high-power laser arrays. The Hebrew University team overcame this technical hurdle by developing the first "N-MM PL" architecture, which specifically supports multiple multimode Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) sources. By designing an adiabatic transition that converts these diverse sources into a single fiber, the researchers have matched the degrees of freedom required to maintain signal integrity and power density.

Massive Scalability Within Sub Millimeter Dimensions

The sheer scale of the multiplexing achieved in this study marks a new milestone for the industry. The researchers successfully demonstrated devices that can multiplex 7, 19, and as many as 37 VCSEL sources, with each laser operating across six spatial modes. Despite supporting a total of 222 spatial modes, the entire 37 input device measures less than half a millimeter in length. This footprint is many orders of magnitude smaller than current optical multiplexing systems, which typically rely on bulky relay lens setups that are difficult to align and maintain.