Electronics · Recorded milestone
Laser
Recorded year1960
Theodore Maiman fires the first laser using a ruby crystal.
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- MaserRecorded · 1954enables
Led to
- LidarRecorded · 1961enables
- Flow cytometryRecorded · 1968enables
- Low-loss optical fibreRecorded · 1970enables
- UPC barcode symbolRecorded · 1973enables
- Barcode scanningRecorded · 1974enables
- Laser printerRecorded · 1976enables
- Laser cooling of atomsRecorded · 1978enables
- LaserDisc playerRecorded · 1978enables
- Compact discRecorded · 1982enables
- Entanglement experimentsRecorded · 1982enables
- Metre defined by lightRecorded · 1983enables
- 3D printingRecorded · 1984enables
- Portable CD playerRecorded · 1984enables
- PostScript and digital fontsRecorded · 1984enables
- Buckyballs (fullerenes)Recorded · 1985enables
- LASIK eye surgeryRecorded · 1990enables
- Adaptive opticsRecorded · 1991enables
- Online parcel trackingRecorded · 1994requires
- SmartphoneRecorded · 1994requires
- Bose-Einstein condensateRecorded · 1995enables
- Computer-to-plateRecorded · 1995enables
- DNA microarrayRecorded · 1995requires
- Laser hair removalRecorded · 1995enables
- DVD playerRecorded · 1996enables
- Graphics processor (GPU)Recorded · 1999requires
- Optical frequency combRecorded · 2000enables
- Space laser communicationRecorded · 2001enables
- Atomic magnetometerRecorded · 2002enables
- Human genome sequencedRecorded · 2003requires
- MetagenomicsRecorded · 2004requires
- Genome-wide association studiesRecorded · 2005requires
- OptogeneticsRecorded · 2005enables
- Super-resolution microscopyRecorded · 2006enables
- Silicon photonicsRecorded · 2007enables
- Home laser hair removalRecorded · 2008enables
- Room-temperature quantum devicesRecorded · 2008enables
- Solid-state drives go mainstreamRecorded · 2008requires
- Fibre-optic acoustic sensingRecorded · 2009enables
- Body-tracking cameraRecorded · 2010requires
- 3D FinFET transistorRecorded · 2011requires
- 3D NAND flashRecorded · 2013requires
- Gravitational waves detectedRecorded · 2015enables
- Surfaces of nearby stars imagedRecorded · 2016requires
- Satellite quantum key exchangeRecorded · 2017enables
- Retinal projection displaysRecorded · 2018enables
- Data written in glassRecorded · 2019enables
- EUV lithographyRecorded · 2019enables
- Fusion ignitionRecorded · 2022enables
- Star-core plasma on demandRecorded · 2022enables
- Heat-assisted hard drivesRecorded · 2024enables
- Nuclear clock transitionRecorded · 2024enables
- Co-packaged photonicsRecorded · 2025enables
- Laser air defenceRecorded · 2025enables
- Mosquito-zapping garden laserForecast · ~2032enables
- Free-electron-laser EUV lightForecast · ~2035enables
- Beyond-EUV lithographyForecast · ~2045enables
- Laser-guided lightningForecast · ~2048enables
- Safe eye colour changeForecast · ~2052enables
- Tabletop X-ray lasersForecast · ~2055enables
- Laser-sail interstellar probeForecast · ~2095enables
Sources & evidence
Dataset updated 2026-10-18. This individual record has not been separately re-reviewed.