Organic Lasers Promise New Lease on Light

Abstract

Many of today's lasers are made from ceramic chips that require expensive clean-room facilities to manufacture, and their color palette is somewhat limited. Researchers have long pinned their hopes on organic materials, which are typically easier and cheaper to process. Now, on page 599, a team reports that they've devised the first electrically powered solid state organic laser, a step that could open the floodgates for novel lasers that are cheaper and that shine in colors inorganics can't match.