As reported by telegraph.co.uk
Scientists have created the world's smallest laser after they squeezed light into a space smaller than a protein molecule.
The breakthrough heralds a revolution in optical technology, paving the way to ''nanolasers'' that can probe and manipulate DNA, and super-fast computers and telecommunications.
''This work shatters traditional notions of laser limits, and makes a major advance toward applications in the biomedical, communications and computing fields,'' said Professor Xiang Zhang, who led the US team.
The new ''plasmon'' laser compresses light into a gap five nanometres wide, the size of a single protein molecule.
A key step forward was the ability to confine light in such a small space long enough for it to stabilise into a ''coherent'' laser state, with all its waves in step.
Plasmons are the wave-like motions of excited electrons on the surfaces of metals. Binding light to these oscillations allows it to be squeezed much further than would normally be the case.
''Plasmon lasers represent an exciting class of coherent light sources capable of extremely small confinement,'' said Prof Zhang, from the University of California (UC) at Berkeley.
''This work can bridge the worlds of electronics and optics at truly molecular length scales.''
Read more
Scientists have created the world's smallest laser after they squeezed light into a space smaller than a protein molecule.
The breakthrough heralds a revolution in optical technology, paving the way to ''nanolasers'' that can probe and manipulate DNA, and super-fast computers and telecommunications.
''This work shatters traditional notions of laser limits, and makes a major advance toward applications in the biomedical, communications and computing fields,'' said Professor Xiang Zhang, who led the US team.
The new ''plasmon'' laser compresses light into a gap five nanometres wide, the size of a single protein molecule.
A key step forward was the ability to confine light in such a small space long enough for it to stabilise into a ''coherent'' laser state, with all its waves in step.
Plasmons are the wave-like motions of excited electrons on the surfaces of metals. Binding light to these oscillations allows it to be squeezed much further than would normally be the case.
''Plasmon lasers represent an exciting class of coherent light sources capable of extremely small confinement,'' said Prof Zhang, from the University of California (UC) at Berkeley.
''This work can bridge the worlds of electronics and optics at truly molecular length scales.''
Read more
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