Researchers create world's first diamond laser

Researchers in Australia have built the world's first diamond laser, harnessing its capability to transmit heat and light very effectively.

A research team led by Richard Mildren at Macquarie University in New South Wales built the first laser using a technique based on the Raman effect.

Besides demonstrating a more effective way of generating a powerful beam, it has also shown that synthetic diamonds are of the right size and quality to enable exploration of a new class of laser devices.

Mildren said that despite their size and appearance, diamonds made by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamonds used in the laser are surprisingly affordable, according to a Macquarie release.

"Using natural diamonds in this type of work is problematic. The quality is not consistent and, as everybody knows, they're very expensive," Mildren said.

"In the last two to three years the production method has really ramped up - diamonds can now be grown using a method called chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and a one cm-long crystal can be purchased for around $2,000," the scientist added.