I recently talked about tiny optical switches, potentially sutable for optical computing.

(From the arXiv Blog @ Technology Review)

A group of researchers in Germany have designed a SPACER that we can expect to hear more about. Their device may eventually be a replacement for the transistor.

A SPASER derives it’s namesake from the LASER:

LASER = Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation\ SPASER = Surface Plasmon Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

The buzzword of the day is “nanoPlasmonics”. Have all sorts of fun with that.

A LASER is neat because (among other things) of the way it generates new photons… in a sort of chain reaction called Stimulated Emission. That chain reaction is responsible for the light’s ‘coherence’.

A SPASER is neat, because it will allow for the use of coherent light for imaging & manipulation @ the nano-scale, where LASERs are ineffective because of their macro-size wavelengths.