Marciante indicates that, while the active layer focuses light, the light also is defocused in the two layers surrounding the active one. If effects are balanced properly, the end result is beam focusing that propagates without filamentation. Marciante and Agrawal will be working with Gary Wicks, who also is a professor at the University of Rochester's institute of optics, over the next several months to develop prototypes of the new solid-state laser. May. Challenges to production will vary from laser to laser, depending on the materials used. A balance must be struck between the issues of strain and threshold.
Threshold refers to an increase in current required to power the laser.
The more current applied, however, the greater the likelihood of heat build-up. Strain refers to the thickness of the layers that must be added. The different layers being added may not join perfectly with the layers around them. Thin layers are not expected to pose a significant problem. If, however, the added layers are too thick, the focusing problem could escalate until the defects propagate through the structure and eventually destroy the laser.