Graphene Laser to Probe Superconductivity

Graphene could make the illusive terahertz laser possible, according to a recent report from the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg. Sources of terahertz radiation, such as that used by those security scanners that look underneath your clothing at airport security checkpoints, are expensive and bulky today, and no source exists for a terahertz laser. Now, Max Planck Institute claims to have demonstrated that graphene could be used to produce terahertz lasers, which could be useful in probing high-temperature superconductors.