Laser diodes are power-packed: Single-mode laser diodes have a rosy future, both as individual sources of power up to 100 milliwatts and in arrays promising up to half a watt

They are individually no bigger than a grain of table salt and require but 100 to 200 milliwatts of electric power to operate, but semiconductor diode lasers are viewed as ideal light sources. First demonstrated as being feasible in the pulsed mode in 1962 and used in low-power continuous-wave applications since the late 1970s, they are now poised for what researchers hope will be a great leap to a multitude of high-power applications.