Optics in LEDs for lighting

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been changing the way we see the world since the 1960s. Their usage in everyday life is pervasive and continues to increase thanks to the cutting-edge research being done in the field of optics. To highlight breakthroughs in LEDs, the editors of Energy Express, a bi-monthly supplement to Optics Express, the open-access journal of the Optical Society (OSA), today published a special Focus Issue on Optics in LEDs for Lighting. The issue is organized and edited by Guest Editors Jae-Hyun Ryou and Russell Dupuis of the Georgia Institute of

New laser technology could kill viruses and improve DVDs

A team led by a professor at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering has made a discovery in semiconductor nanowire laser technology that could potentially do everything from kill viruses to increase storage capacity of DVDs.

Ultraviolet semiconductor diode lasers are widely used in data processing, information storage and biology. Their applications have been limited, however, by size, cost and power. The current generation of ultraviolet lasers is based on a material called gallium nitride, but Jianlin Liu, a professor of electrical engineering, and