A nano-sized light source capable of emitting coherent light across the visible spectrum has been invented by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California-Berkeley.

The said technology, once refined, will have various useful applications: single cell endoscopy and other forms of subwavelength bio-imaging, integrated circuitry for nanophotonic technology and new advanced methods of cyber cryptography.

According to chemist Peidong Yang, one of the project's principal investigators:

"Working with individual nanowires, we've developed the first electrode-free, continuously tunable coherent visible light source that's compatible with physiological environments.

We've also demonstrated that it is possible to trap and manipulate single nanowires with optical tweezers -- a critical capability not only for bio-imaging, but also for wiring together nanophotonic circuitry."

Study results appear in the June 28 issue of the journal Nature.

Find more details from the full report.

[In Photo: The team of researchers who created the nanowire light source included, from the left, Peidong Yang, Jan Liphardt, Peter Pauzauskie, Aleksandra Radenovic, Robert Onorato and Richard Saykally.]