Larry A. Coldren

Biography

Larry A. Coldren’s development and commercialization of key laser and photonics technologies have been integral to enhancing the capacity and spectral efficiency of high-capacity optical transmission systems. Perhaps his most outstanding innovation was the conception, development, and commercialization of the sampled-grating distributed-Bragg-reflector laser. Containing a modulator and amplifier fabricated on the same chip as a widely-tunable laser, this device is the workhorse transmitter for high-capacity lightwave transmission systems in many of today’s telecom networks. Dr. Coldren also made seminal contributions to the design of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, which are integral to routing e-mail and Internet traffic. He is a technical authority on photonic integrated circuits, whose functionality, low cost, and small footprint will play an important role in ultra-high-speed optical systems.

An IEEE Life Fellow, Dr. Coldren is the Fred Kavli Professor of Optoelectronics and Sensors at the University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA. Coldren was the recipient of the 2014 IEEE David Sarnoff Award.