Researchers at Arizona State University have created the world’s first white laser beam, according to a new study published in Nature. More work needs to be done to perfect this technology, but white lasers could serve as a potential alternative light source — both in people’s homes and in the screens of their electronics. Lasers are more energy efficient than LEDs, and the ASU researchers claim that their white lasers can cover 70 percent more colors than current standard displays.
The researchers also suggest the technology could be used beyond consumer electronics. They suggest white lasers could be used in Li-Fi, a developing technology that uses multiple colors of light to enable high-speed wireless internet access. Currently, LEDs are being used to develop Li-Fi technology, which could be 10 times faster than current radio-based Wi-Fi. Ning and his colleagues argue that Li-Fi using white lasers could be 10 to 100 times faster than LED-based Li-Fi.
Source: Engineers create world’s first white laser beam
This is not the world’s first white-light laser. This *is* the world’s first white-light SEMICONDUCTING laser. Several types of gas lasers (primarily some types of metal vapor lasers and Ar+/Kr+ mix lasers) produced white laser light several decades ago.