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Holographic laser projection technology, combined with infrared touch-recognition technology, enables consumers to interact with a virtual display that can be projected onto a wall or table.
Microdisplays based on liquid-crystal-on-silicon technology may soon gain wider recognition as they penetrate an increasing number of markets, ranging from electronic viewfinders to miniature data projectors and head-up displays.
Quantum-dot-based solar cells promise to deliver efficiencies approaching those of crystalline solar cells but with the manufacturing simplicity of organics.
Sphelar solar-cell technology uses an array of tiny spheres of silicon within a transparent matrix to generate power, promising new opportunities for the use of solar cells in power-generating windows and portable, foldable power supplies.
Distributed fibre-optic sensors that rely on Brillouin scattering are being used by the oil and gas industries to keep their infrastructure safe and working properly.
A direct UV writing technique that can create multiple Bragg gratings and waveguides in a planar silica-on-silicon chip is enabling sensing applications ranging from individual disposable sensors for biotechnology through to multiplexed sensor networks in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
A high-definition LIDAR system with a rotating sensor head containing 64 semiconductor lasers allows the efficient generation of 3D environment maps at unprecedented levels of detail.
The excimer laser is synonymous with precision. Today it is enabling the production of integrated circuits and nextgeneration displays, as well as new breakthroughs in eye surgery.
Since their invention, quantum cascade lasers have made considerable progress in terms of their wavelength range and efficiency. Today, they have important applications in environmental science, process control and medical diagnostics.
When the Ti:Sapphire laser was first invented, it took the research community by storm. Today, it has an important role in imaging, spectroscopy and many other applications.
The Nd:YAG was one of the first ever industrial lasers, and even today it still has many advantages over other laser technologies. Competition from newer laser technologies, however, has made its evolution critical to its survival.
The semiconductor laser has revolutionized the way the world communicates, and it is continuously evolving with our ever-increasing demand for higher bandwidths.
With its high wall-plug efficiency and record-breaking power output, the fibre laser has made the use of lasers in manufacturing more acceptable and cost-effective.
Cameras equipped with an image intensifier make it possible to image ultrafast and low-light events and are proving of particular importance for combustion studies.
Table-top sources that generate both extreme ultraviolet light and soft X-rays through high-harmonic generation of ultrafast infrared laser pulses look set to perform tasks previously accessible using only large-scale synchrotrons.
The use of pulse-shaping technology to optimize the temporal and spectral properties of ultrashort light pulses can enhance their utility in many applications.
Advances in nano-imprint lithography have moved the technology out of the laboratory and onto the production floor for use in a wide variety of photonic applications.
Extreme ultraviolet lithography extends photolithography to much shorter wavelengths and is a cost-effective method of producing more-advanced integrated circuits. Although some infrastructure challenges still remain, this technology is expected to begin high-volume microchip production within the next three years.
