![Schematic diagram of GaN hollow nanowires on a sapphire substrate.](https://i0.wp.com/images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/15164040/SEI_191604492.jpg?resize=749%2C499&ssl=1)
Artist’s impression of a hollow nanowire emitting donut-shaped laser light
Masato Takiguchi et al./ACS Photonics/American Chemical Society 2024
A small hollow wire can produce a donut-shaped laser beam that can be used to levitate small objects or transmit information.
Traditional lasers typically produce a beam that appears as a single, small spot of light when it hits a surface. But for some new communication technologies that use light to transfer information, it may be better to use lasers, which produce a hollow beam, like a straw, that appears as a halo of light when it hits a surface.
Such a hollow laser…
Source: www.newscientist.com