spaser

Meaning

Noun

• The nanoplasmonic counterpart of a laser; a nanoscale source of optical fields with potential uses in nanoscale lithography, probing and microscopy.

Origin

• Acronym for "surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation"; compare laser. The phenomenon was first described by Bergman and Stockman in 2003, and the first such device was announced in 2009.