Researchers at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have developed an improved process that could lead to production of useable lasers that would not damage eyesight. Using nano-particles, the process has shown an 85-percent improvement in efficiency. It entails incorporation of what they call “rare-earth-ion-doped fiber,” which essentially is “laser light pumping a silica fiber that has been infused with rare earth ions of holmium.”
Besides being more efficient than the present process, it produces a laser beam at a wavelength small enough to reduce the potential of damaging eyesight.