A Devil’s Tower-like monument rises above a sea of bubbles. It’s just another
day in the life of a nanolaser researcher.
The tower is a microscopic laser in the process of being built - here, it’s
shown after it was carved out of a flat sheet of
The one on the left is a nanolaser, carved by high-energy plasma and strong
acid, and invisible to the naked eye. The one on the right is a hoodoo, carved
by wind and rain, and is approximately 20 million times larger. And about 60
million times older.
The reason
The one on the left is a nanolaser, carved by high-energy plasma and strong
acid, and invisible to the naked eye. The one on the right is a hoodoo, carved
by wind and rain, and is approximately 20 million times larger. And about 60
million times older.
The reason
It looks like it could be an image of desert badlands - except for that
strangely translucent wall. In fact, this scene is much, much smaller. An ant
could step over the wall without ever noticing its existence.
This image was taken through an electron microscope, of a microscopic landscape
that’
It looks like it could be an image of desert badlands - except for that
strangely translucent wall. In fact, this scene is much, much smaller. An ant
could step over the wall without ever noticing its existence.
This image was taken through an electron microscope, of a microscopic landscape
that’
Resembling arrays of flaming islands, these formations are actually microscopic,
etched out of semiconductor.
This semiconductor material is what we use to make microscopic lasers - we start
with a vast, featureless sheet of semiconductor and cover certain areas with a
protective layer of glassy photoresist. Then we blast the whole
Resembling arrays of flaming islands, these formations are actually microscopic,
etched out of semiconductor.
This semiconductor material is what we use to make microscopic lasers - we start
with a vast, featureless sheet of semiconductor and cover certain areas with a
protective layer of glassy photoresist. Then we blast the whole
It resembles a mushroom cloud, but in fact, it’s one of our microscopic
nanolasers, imaged under an electron microscope. These lasers are among the
smallest in the world, so small you could fit a billion of them on an iPhone
home button, small enough to one day fit easily
It resembles a mushroom cloud, but in fact, it’s one of our microscopic
nanolasers, imaged under an electron microscope. These lasers are among the
smallest in the world, so small you could fit a billion of them on an iPhone
home button, small enough to one day fit easily
Strange formations caused when high-energy plasma from a reactive ion etcher
bombards semiconductor materials.
We use the reactive ion etcher to carve out microscopic optical devices, like
lasers and filters. Here, there’s no particular device that we were trying to
make - we were just testing to see if