The unique properties of a photonic-crystal surface-emitting laser are reported. Single-mode operation over a large area can be achieved due to the effect of zero group velocity in the band edge mode. This leads to high-power operation and on-demand beam control. Various beam patterns, including doughnut, multiple doughnuts, and circular, are generated by the design of the lattice structure, and show potential for application in various fields. Furthermore, the output power almost reaches 1 W under pulsed conditions. (c) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn, 93(6): 48-53, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecj.10199