In late 1962, four independent groups succeeded in making a semiconductor
or "diode" laser, the type of laser which is now used in DVD
players, compact disk players, barcode scanners and fiber optic communications.
The above picture shows the first visible laser diode photographed in
its own light. It was produced by Nick Holonyak, Jr, and co-workers,
then at the GE Laboratory in Syracuse (Picture courtesy Nick Holonyak,
Jr., University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign).
IBM scientists observe electronic characteristics of their new gallium
arsenide direct injection laser. From left to right they are Gordon
J.
Lasher, William P. Dumke, Gerald Burns, Marshall I. Nathan and Frederick
H. Dill, Jr. The picture was taken on November 1, 1962. (Image courtesy
IBM.)
In the present day, researchers are developing semiconductor lasers
that deliver blue light,. The above image is an example of a blue laser
at the University of California at Santa Barbera, one of the many research
groups that have worked on blue lasers. Within the decade, blue lasers
might replace the red lasers in DVD players, enabling a six-fold increase
in information storage on the same-sized disk. (Blue laser image courtesy
College of Engineering, University of California At Santa Barbara)
Associated Physics
News Update
Associated AIP/OSA
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