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Honorary Professor Kenichi Iga and Professor Emeritus/Specially Appointed Professor Fumio Koyama have been selected as recipients of the 2026 Japan Academy Prize. The announcement was made by the Japan Academy on March 12, with the award ceremony scheduled to take place on July 13 at the Japan Academy. Additionally, Professor Emeritus Toshikazu Sunada of Meiji University (a 1972 graduate of the Faculty of Science at this university) was also among the newly named recipients.
The Japan Academy Prize is one of the most prestigious academic awards in Japan, presented by the Japan Academy to researchers who have achieved particularly outstanding academic results.
Honorary Professor Iga and Professor Emeritus/Specially Appointed Professor Koyama have spent many years advancing research on the realization, performance enhancement, and application of the Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL). The VCSEL is a type of semiconductor laser that serves as a light source characterized by low power consumption, high efficiency, and high-density integration. It is now widely utilized in fields such as optical communications, data centers, and sensing.
In 1977, Honorary Professor Iga proposed the basic concept and structure of the VCSEL, achieving its initial operation at low temperatures in 1979. He continued to refine the device, focusing on enhancing the performance of the resonator that allows light to travel vertically. In collaboration with Professor Emeritus Koyama, he succeeded in achieving continuous-wave (CW) oscillation at room temperature in 1988. This breakthrough triggered a massive expansion of surface-emitting laser technology, leading to significant growth in applications such as Local Area Networks (LANs), high-speed optical communications for data centers, facial recognition, and optical radar (LiDAR). This award recognizes their long-standing pioneering research in the fields of semiconductor lasers and optoelectronics, as well as the profound social and industrial impact of their work.

Figure 1: Basic structure of a Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser

Comments from the Awardees / Honorary Professor Kenichi Iga

It is a great honor to receive this award. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the many collaborators, students, and all those who have supported this research over the years. The development of surface-emitting laser research has been made possible through the efforts of many people. I hope to continue contributing, even in a small way, to the further advancement of the field of optoelectronics.

Professor Emeritus and Specially Appointed Professor Fumio Koyama

「I am truly honored to receive such a prestigious award. The research on increasing the speed and expanding the applications of surface-emitting lasers is the result of collaborative work with many fellow researchers. I intend to continue my research to contribute to the development of next-generation optical interconnect technologies.

Prof. Fumio Koyama Research Results

• Fumio Koyama received 2019 Nick Holonyak, Jr. Award
• Fumio Koyama received 27th Okawa Prize
• Fumio Koyama received IEEE Nick Holonyak Jr. Medal for Semiconductor Optoelectronic Technologies
• Fumio Koyama received the 4th Hirose Prize

Contact

Professor Emeritus/Specially Appointed Professor Fumio Koyama（Quantum Photonics and Optoelectronics Research Core）
http://vcsel-www.pi.titech.ac.jp/


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