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News

July 2010

Jain featured in 50 years of laser history milestones

Washington, DC -- Since the laser was first demonstrated in 1960, it has found innumerable applications in science, industry, consumer products, and medicine. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the development of the laser, the American Physical Society (APS), in partnership with the Optical Society of America (OSA), SPIE-The International Society for Optical Engineering, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)-Photonics, is spearheading a year-long celebration of this historic event, described in their informative website LaserFest (www.laserfest.org). To highlight 50 years of innovations in lasers and laser applications, the website presents a Timeline of Laser History Milestones (www.laserfest.org/lasers/history/timeline.cfm). Among the key milestones featured in this Timeline is the invention and demonstration of excimer laser lithography in 1982 by Professor Kanti Jain. Developed by him at the I.B.M. San Jose Research Laboratory (now the I.B.M. Almaden Research Center), excimer laser lithography is now the predominant lithography technology used worldwide in the fabrication of microchips (integrated circuits) for the computer and electronics industry, totaling $400 billion in annual production. The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of U.K., in their commemorative document "Lasers in Our Lives: 50 Years of Impact" (www.stfc.ac.uk/Resources/PDF/Lasers50_final1.pdf), has also featured Jain's work in their "50 Years of Lasers Timeline."

(See also: http://engineering.illinois.edu/news/2010/07/22/jain-recognized-50-years-laser-history-milestones and http://www.ece.illinois.edu/mediacenter/article.asp?id=1095)

 

Photonics, Microelectronics, and Microsystems Laboratory
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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