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To: Saturn V who wrote (180211)	2/16/2005 4:00:51 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 186894

Intel Reports Milestone in Lasers Wednesday February 16, 3:06 pm ET By Matthew Fordahl, AP Technology Writer Intel Reports Research Milestone in Using Silicon for Lasers; Could Mean Cheaper Machines SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- In an advance that could drive down the cost of optical networks, researchers have built a laser using silicon, the same material used in computer chips, that shines without stopping or blinking. The technology could have important uses, Intel Corp. researchers said. It could be used to make high-bandwidth, light-based communications inexpensive enough to replace copper wire inside computers, and could reduce the cost of lasers used in medicine, defense and other industries. The research is published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. Until recently, few experts thought humble silicon could be used to build a laser, said Mario Paniccia, director of Intel's photonics lab. It tends to absorb light energy, dissipating it as heat rather than amplifying it as current lasers, which use more exotic materials, do. "This is a fundamental breakthrough," said Paniccia, a co-author of the Intel study. "It's one of those things that's a game changer." Intel researchers had already announced in January that they had built an all-silicon laser. But that device had a problem: The laser effect stopped after a time. A solution to that problem resulted in laser light that came in pulses -- impractical for most uses. Now, they have built in a tiny component that eliminates that problem. "That was a major remaining milestone for these lasers," said Bahram Jalali, a University of California, Los Angeles electrical engineering professor who was not involved in the Intel research. Laser beams are usually created by using a blast of electricity or light to boost the energy levels of electrons in the atoms of a crystal, semiconductor or gas. The electrons then release photons, the basic element of light, which can be formed into a concentrated beam. That process doesn't work with silicon, so the researchers focused on a weak scattering of photons called the "Raman effect," which is already in use in one type of laser. They found the Raman effect is 10,000 times stronger in silicon. Intel photonics research: intel.com Nature: nature.com

To: Saturn V who wrote (180211)	2/24/2005 3:33:28 AM
From: Amy J	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Saturn, that's good he uses blogging and the style is quite good - direct. Very popular with employees because it gets to the hard issues and is direct from him. As an investor, I like that he's focused on hard company issues. While it is very encouraging to see Barrett help the overall industry and this is definitely needed and uplifting to all of us, Barrett got a bit too focused on non-corporate stuff before Intel stumbled last year, so it is good to see Otellini focused on the hard company issues with a sharp focus. He has a reputation for this, but it's good to see it by oneself here. For whatever reason, our society expects too much cheerleading in a public presentation so a sense they were on top of the hard issues didn't always come across to me, but it does in the blog. It's core material, without the confusing spin that media gives during interviews. You can say things in a blog that you'd never get away with during a presentation. The unspoken rule is, presentations require fluffy charisma but blogs are just the opposite - fluff gets shot down. His blog is good. Regards, Amy J