What is "nanolaser"

n. A laser that uses nanowires or similar devices to produce very fine beams of coherent light

A nanolaser is a laser that has nanoscale dimensions. The nanolaser concept was developed by Mark Stockman at Georgia State University in 2003.

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), and therefore paves the way toward integrated nanophotonic circuitry.

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.

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.