QD Laser

Market position

QD Laser is a University of Tokyo/Fujitsu-linked photonics company that reported the world's first commercial mass production of quantum dot lasers for 10 Gbps optical communication in March 2009 and has accumulated recognition including a Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards runner-up (2006), IEEE Spectrum "Winner for Telecommunications" (2009), Green IT Awards METI Award (2010), the IEEE Photonics Society Aron Kressel Award (2014), the 1st JEITA Venture Awards (2016), the 16th Yamazaki Teiichi Prize (2016), CEATEC JAPAN 2016 US Media Panel Innovation Awards Grand Prix and METI Award, Photonics West Prism Awards (2017 and 2019) and the WIRED Audi Innovation Award 2017.

Differentiators cited by the company include quantum dot lasers with high-temperature stability and high optical-feedback tolerance for optical communication and silicon photonics; visible laser modules based on a DFB plus wavelength-conversion design that, unlike DPSS lasers, allow high-speed modulation with low power consumption in a compact proprietary package; DFB seed lasers selectable in 1 nm steps with picosecond gain-switch operation for non-thermal micromachining; and VISIRIUM retinal-projection optics applied to both low-vision assistive devices and XR glasses.

Technology

The company's technology base is GaAs-based semiconductor laser fabrication, including InAs quantum dot and InGaAs quantum well epitaxial structures. Quantum dot lasers provide stable operation at high temperature (world-first -40 to 100 °C operation for optical communication demonstrated in 2008; up to 200 °C cited for current products) and high optical-feedback tolerance. Visible-wavelength modules combine a DFB laser with a PPLN wavelength-conversion element to yield modulatable 532/561/594 nm output, in contrast to non-modulatable DPSS lasers. DFB seed lasers support gain-switched 50 ps and 15 ps pulses for fiber-laser micromachining, enabling non-thermal processing that finishes material before heat-induced change. VISIRIUM technology precisely manipulates laser light to scan images directly onto the retina, and the same optical engine approach is being applied to XR glasses. The company also works on silicon photonics light sources, which it states could cut data-centre power consumption by 30% or more.

Go-to-market

Products are marketed via direct sales and inquiry/quotation forms, dedicated satellite sites for semiconductor lasers and epitaxial wafers (available in Japanese, English and simplified Chinese) and a RETISSA-specific site, supported by trade-show presence at SPIE Photonics West, LASER World of PHOTONICS, OPIE, CEATEC, InterOpto and the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference, and by LinkedIn activity from the Laser Device Division. Retail and rental channels have been used for retinal projection products, including eBay sales of RETISSA Display II from August 2021 and test marketing of RETISSA VIEWCLEAR from May 2026. A business collaboration with TDK covers XR glass optical engines, and an analyst report by Shared Research was published in September 2024.

Industrial and instrument makers needing laser sources for micromachining seeders, inspection, LiDAR, machine vision, leveling instruments and particle counters; biomedical equipment makers (flow cytometers, microscopes, spectroscopy); optical communication and silicon photonics system builders including data centres, high-performance computing, automotive and mobile infrastructure; resource-exploration users needing high-temperature operation; and people with low vision plus clinical and assistive-technology channels for RETISSA products.

Geography

Headquarters are at 206-1 Kamikurata-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan; the head office was relocated and operations began at the Yokohama-Totsuka Site (YTS) in April 2026. A non-consolidated US subsidiary, QD Laser America, Inc. (capital $10,000), was established in Delaware in August 2022 to sell retinal projection products. Product information is published in Japanese, English and simplified Chinese, and the company exhibits in the United States, Europe and Asia.

History

After its 2006 founding, QD Laser received NEDO grants for practical development of quantum dot lasers (2006) and quantum dot DFB lasers (2008) for optical communication, demonstrated the world's first quantum dot laser for optical communication operating from -40 to 100 °C in February 2008, and began the world's first commercial mass production of 10 Gbps quantum dot lasers in March 2009. It raised roughly 700 million yen in December 2008 led by Mizuho Capital and about 800 million yen in December 2010 from existing shareholders. Product expansion followed with 1064 nm DFB modules (2011, 400 mW in 2014), compact green/yellow-green/orange modules (2012), a picosecond pulse driver board (2014) and a wearable "Laser Eyewear" terminal (2014). Retinal projection work advanced through an SLO study group and the MERIT consortium in 2016, RETISSA Display orders from 2018, EN ISO 13485 certification in 2019, RETISSA MEDICAL approval in January 2020 and sales in March 2021. A third-party share allocation was carried out in April 2019. The company listed on the TSE Mothers Market in February 2021 and moved to the Growth Market in April 2022, established QD Laser America in August 2022, launched RETISSA NEOVIEWER and RETISSA ON HAND in March 2023 and the Lantana visible laser in October 2024.