Scientists have developed the world’s smallest semiconductor laser, a breakthrough that they say will lead to the development of faster, smaller and lower energy photon-based technologies for treating and studying diseases.

Physicists at The University of Texas in collaboration with colleagues in Taiwan and China have developed the world’s smallest semiconductor laser, a technology for emerging photonic technology with applications from computing to medicine, according to a report published in the journal Science .

According to the scientists, miniaturisation of semiconductor lasers is key for the development of faster, smaller and lower energy photon-based technologies such as ultrafast computer chips; highly sensitive biosensors for detecting, treating and studying diseases and next-generation communication technologies.

Such photonic devices could use nano-lasers to generate optical signals and transmit information and have the potential to replace electronic circuits.

“We have developed a nano-laser device that operates well below the 3-D diffraction limit,” said Chih-Kang “Ken” Shih, professor of physics at The University of Texas at Austin.

“We believe our research could have a large impact on nano-scale technologies,” Prof. Shih said.

The nano-laser is too small to be visible to the naked eye and when fired, it emits a green light.

The device is constructed of a gallium nitride nanorod that is partially filled with indium gallium nitride. Both alloys are semiconductors used commonly in LEDs.

It’s a material that the Shih lab has been perfecting for more than 15 years. The “atomic smoothness” is key to building photonic devices that don’t scatter and lose plasmons, which are waves of electrons that can be used to move large amounts of data.

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