Displays with 70 percent more colors. Wireless communications hundreds of times faster than traditional WiFi. It sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, but in reality, all we need to do is look more closely at the white laser. First demonstrated by Arizona State University last July, the white laser will require several more years of development, but it is already considered one of the discoveries of the year, and possibly of the decade.
The first patent exploring the concept of a "laser TV" was filed in the late 1970s, and since then, various prototypes have tried to harness its potential. Unfortunately, the few models that reached the market came with a staggering price tag and multiple design issues, including weight and size. Today we are at a stage where manufacturers are showcasing their advances in OLED technology, with televisions so thin that it would be possible to hang them from the wall with magnets. However, experts have no doubt that laser TV is a superior technology, but its development needs a critical ally: the white laser.
The technology behind the white laser
The first time we heard about the white laser was in July of this year. All its demonstrations, led by Arizona State University, used a kind of synthetic "nanosheath" capable of emitting red, blue, and green light in different proportions. The nanosheath material is composed of zinc, selenium, sulfur, and cadmium, an alloy formed in a tube at almost a thousand degrees Celsius. The device can be adjusted to transition from one color to another without errors, but when the entire field is collected, the result is the desired white color.
In other words, the white laser is a very attractive line of research for science and industry in general because it could replace the LED as we know it. The laser shines brighter and is much more efficient in terms of energy consumption. Future televisions could gain an additional 70 percent more colors thanks to the white laser, but there is something more: LiFi. Efforts made with LiFi with LED technology reveal a speed ten times faster than classic WiFi; however, laser-based LiFi would be a hundred times faster than LED-based LiFi. The wait will be long, but with a bit of luck, we will see it.
Arizona State University
