Collimating Semiconductor Lasers Without Lenses

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday July 29, 2008 @05:07AM from the should-make-somebody-rich dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at Harvard University and Hamamatsu Photonics have found a way to collimate lasers without lenses. In the new 'plasmonic collimator' technique, grooves are etched directly into the semiconductor laser's internal mirror. This results in surface plasmons giving rise to constructive interference, eliminating the need for the bulky optical lenses that usually focus the light from semiconductor lasers. The technique has promise for steering laser beams without moving parts and for working with polarized light."

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Re:Translation: by f8l_0e · 2008-07-29 06:05 · Score: 5, Insightful

I don't know what's more sad.

1. Someone dumbing down a tech article for the slashdot crowd to read.

2. Said post getting modded up as informative.

Welcome to the new slashdot. Striving to be more like FOX news every day.