MAKING SILICON LASE.

LASER design & construction; TECHNOLOGICAL innovations; SILICON; PHOTONICS; OPTOELECTRONIC devices; MATERIALS science

The article states that researchers have achieved the production of laser light from silicon. Materials-based techniques of making silicon lase are discussed, as are problems previously encountered in trying to produce silicon lasers. This advance, and the advent of the hybrid technology of silicon electrophotonics, could lead to ultrafast digital transfers, new sensor networks, and other innovations. INSET: THE CHALLENGE OF GETTING SILICON TO LASE.