Xerox Corp has followed Nichia Chemical Industries (CI No 3,242), to generating a blue diode laser beam, which operates at a smaller wavelength than conventional red laser and can therefore read a write smaller pieces of information. The diameter of a blue laser spot is half that of a red laser, which will ultimately enable Xerox to build higher-quality laser printers, though they won’t be available for a few years yet. The laser beam operates at room temperature. Funding for the project was also provided by US Department of Defense and Commerce agencies. Other Japanese companies plus Hewlett-Packard Co are also trying to develop blue lasers.
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