Special Research Fund and a Wavelength-Tunable Surface Emitting Laser

My application for a recommendation from the university for Grant-in Aid for Specially Promoted Research by the Ministry of Education was adopted around 1985. It was 300 million yen over three years, a very big project for the university research at that time. The title of the project was “Studies on surface emitting lasers and stacked optical integrated circuits.” The goal was to achieve continuous operation at room temperature of a VCSEL. According to what I heard later, the Committee on Specially Promoted Research stated that it was decided that “He may not get the Nobel Prize, but let’s give him a try because it is interesting.” In preparation for that, Professor Yasuharu Suematsu and the late Professor Seijiro Furukawa gave me much advice.