Nanolaser breakthrough crucial for optical computer miniaturisation

A new nanolaser device, called a "spaser," has been developed and is the first of its kind to emit visible light. It represents a critical component for possible future technologies based on "nanophotonic" circuitry.



The spasers contain a gold core surrounded by a silica shell filled with OG-488 green dye in spheres totalling 44nm in diameter. When a light was shone on the spheres, plasmons generated by the gold core were amplified by the dye. The plasmons were then converted to photons of visible light, which was emitted as a laser. The "spaser-based nanolasers" research is detailed in a paper appearing online in the journal Nature that reports on work conducted by researchers at Purdue, Norfolk State University and Cornell University.

See Purdue University.