How Precision Lasers Power Modern LiDAR
Lasers are an underappreciated foundational technology that supports the modern world. They are used in semiconductor manufacturing, fiber optic telecommunications, engraving and printing, optical disks, surgery, measurement, military systems, aerospace, etc.
One recent boom application of lasers is LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), or “laser radar,” a method that uses a laser to detect the distance from an object with exact precision.
LiDARs are used by almost all self-driving companies to power their autonomous vehicles, forming large devices on top of the self-driving cars.
Source: SFGate
The problem with LiDAR is that it is rather bulky and expensive, making mass deployment uneconomic. It is also very fragile, increasing long-term costs even further.
This might have just changed, thanks to a new laser design by researchers from the University of Rochester (USA) and the University of California (USA). It departed from usual silicon photonics, using lithium niobate instead.
They published their discovery in Light Science & Applications1, under the title “Pockels laser directly driving ultrafast optical metrology”.
Understanding LiDAR: Principles & Techniques
LiDAR Distance-Measurement Basics
The base principle of a LiDAR is similar to how a radar works: a signal is emitted and bounces back on an object toward the source. The time between the emission of the signal and its bouncing back tells you about the distance.
The difference is that LiDARs use invisible rays of infrared or sometimes ultraviolet light, instead of radio waves (the “R” in RADAR – RAdio Detection And Ranging)
Source: Synopsis
As light is extremely fast, LiDARs need extremely precise laser-wave control, leading to the system’s high complexity, costs, and fragility.
Pockels Effect: Enabling Ultrafast Laser Tuning
The researchers have looked to improve LiDAR technology by leveraging the Pockels effect. This phenomenon changes in some material the refractive index of a material (how it bends light) when an electric field is active.
The Pockels effect is displayed by special crystals like monopotassium phosphate or the one used in this study, lithium niobate, a synthetic salt made of lithium, niobium, and oxygen.
Source: Sumimoto
It allowed the researchers to create a laser that could very precisely change its color across a broad spectrum of light at very fast rates—about 10 quintillion times per second.
A common application of lithium niobate is for surface acoustic waves (SAW) in smartphones and other electronic devices to create filters for preventing noise and interference, so this technology can leverage an existing supply chain.
Building a Chip-Scale Pockels LiDAR Laser
Thin-Film Lithium Niobate: Nanometer-Scale Engineering
The scientists used a thin-film layer of lithium niobate, deposited on a substrate of silicon dioxide and silicon and protected by a layer of silicon oxide.
Source: Light Science & Applications
They then tested variations of the silicon protective layer, finding the optimal thickness that can generate the most controllable frequency range.
Source: Light Science & Applications
The result was a miniaturized laser, the size of a computer chip, with extremely controllable parameters for LiDAR applications.
“It’s a very important process that can be used for optical clocks that can measure time with extreme precision, but you need a lot of equipment to do that. A typical setup might require instruments the size of a desktop computer such as an intrinsic laser, an isolator, an acoustic optic modulator, and a phase modulator.
Our laser can integrate all of these things into a very small chip that can be tuned electrically.”
Shixin Xue – Shixin Xue, a PhD student at Rochester University
Performance Metrics: Frequency Chirp & Velocimetry
When measured, the chip displayed performance that by far outmatched all existing lasers.
Notably, it achieved a “frequency chirping rate” of up to 20 EHz/s, with a modulation bandwidth exceeding 10 GHz. For reference, these numbers are orders of magnitude greater than those of existing lasers.
The laser chip could reach velocimetry of 40 m/s over a short distance of 0.4 m, and the visual resolution was <2 cm. It is even possible that speed measurement could be higher than 40m/s, but the experimental setup did not allow for faster tests.
These short-range performances are important, as it is something that traditional LiDAR systems almost always struggle with, together with fast-moving objects, and a big issue for self-driving technology that absolutely needs to see well close and fast-moving objects.
Source: Light Science & Applications
Why Miniaturized LiDAR Matters: Benefits & Use Cases
Until now, the development of laser frequency control has remained relatively limited. This has created severe limitations for the practical deployment of laser measurements due to the size, weight, and power consumption of these systems.
So self-driving cars and other autonomous vehicles (like drones) and devices (robotics) are the first obvious possibilities for this technology. The field has been held back by 2 issues: getting an AI smart enough to drive the cars safely, and the cost & size of LiDARs to give the AI an accurate vision of its environment. Lithium niobate photonics could solve the second problem just in time when AIs are becoming good enough for the job.
This is not the only application of ultra-precise laser measurements. Advanced manufacturing also uses LiDAR for constant measurements and calibrations. Telecommunications, quantum communications, producing microwaves, and sensors could also benefit from pocket-sized, low-cost, and low-energy consumption laser measurements.
Scientists even use lasers for measuring gravitational waves, dark matter observation, and other advanced physics calculations. Ultra-precise velocimeters (speed measurement) could also be important for developing better inertial confinement nuclear fusion, so it could help overall scientific advancements as well.
Investing In Laser Technology
Lasers are present in countless parts of modern technology, from optical disks to surgery tools, 3D printing, semiconductors, manufacturing, and genome sequencers, with a $17.8B market expected to grow by 7.8% CAGR until 2030.
You can invest in laser-related companies through many brokers, and you can find here, on securities.io, our recommendations for the best brokers in the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, as well as many other countries.
If you are not interested in picking specific companies, you can also look into technology ETFs like iShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW) or ProShares Nanotechnology ETF (TINY) even if there is no dedicated laser-only ETF available, which will provide a more diversified exposure to capitalize on the nanotech & tech stocks.
Top Public Laser & Photonics Companies
Coherent (II-VI Marlow): A Leader in Laser Innovation
Coherent, Inc. (COHR -0.28%)
Coherent is a large industrial conglomerate with 26,000+ employees and a leader in laser technology. It resulted from the merger of advanced material II-VI Marlow with laser maker Coherent.
The company is an expert in advanced materials used in lasers, optics, and photonics, such as indium phosphide, epitaxial wafers, and gallium arsenide.
It grew largely thanks to multiple acquisitions over the last decade, from $600M in revenues in 2013 to $4.7B in 2024
The company derives 29% of its revenues from lasers directly, with the rest linked to associated equipment like optical fiber, and electronics. The instrumentation category mostly includes life sciences and medical applications.
Source: Coherent
The presence of the company in advanced materials like thermophotovoltaics (which we discussed in a previous article), silicon carbide, lasers, and electronics helps it benefit from structural trends like the growth of precision manufacturing, additive manufacturing (3D printing), electrification, and renewables energies.
The company has recently separated its silicon carbide business into a new entity, owned at 75% by Coherent, with the rest owned equally by its partners Mitsubishi Electric (bringing silicon carbide power IP) and Denso (bringing its activity as an automotive supplier on electrification and power semiconductors).
This is because silicon carbide is increasingly its own technology, mostly used in high-power applications like EVs, batteries, and renewable energy.
Coherent is a leader in LIDAR and 3D-digital sensing, including for self-driving applications, biotech Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) Flow Cells, and lasers for semiconductor manufacturing. It expects its main markets to grow at 8-20%.
Source: Coherent
The other potential new applications of lasers like direct energy weapons, photonic computing, nuclear fusion, and spacetech could all equally help sustain the long-term growth of the company.
Overall, Coherent is as close as it can get to a “pure play” publicly traded laser company for investors interested in the sector, with strong vertical integration and 3,100+ patents protecting its innovations.
Coherent also already produces at-scale lithium niobate wafers, making it one of the companies best positioned to potentially bring the innovation discussed in this article to a commercial stage.
Latest Coherent (COHR) Stock News and Developments
Study Referenced
1. Xue, S., Li, M., Lopez-rios, R., et al. Pockels laser directly driving ultrafast optical metrology. Light Sci Appl 14, 209 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-025-01872-4