Nanolaser
A nanolaser is a laser that has nanoscale dimensions. The nanolaser concept was developed by Mark Stockman at Georgia State University in 2003.[citation needed]
These tiny lasers can be modulated quickly and, combined with their small footprint, this makes them ideal candidates for on-chip optical computing. The intense optical fields of such a laser also enable the enhancement effect in non-linear optics or surface-enhanced-raman-scattering (SERS),[1] and therefore paves the way toward integrated nanophotonic circuitry.[2]
In 2012, researchers at Northwestern University published a description of a working room-temperature nanolaser "based on three-dimensional (3D) Au bowtie (nanoparticles) supported by an organic gain material," constructs which were thought to be suitable for inclusion in photonic circuit architectures.[3]
In February 2012, researchers at University of California, San Diego demonstrated the first thresholdless laser and the smallest room temperature nanolaser using plasmonic nanoscale coaxial structures.[4]
