"OPTICAL: Optical antenna helps QC laser hit the spot"

Spectral scanners using tiny semiconductor quantum-cascade (QC) lasers hold promise for handheld devices that can read out the chemical composition of nearly any sample. Unfortunately, QC laser's wavelengths are measured in microns, limiting scanners to micron-scale resolution, since a focused laser's spot cannot ordinarily be smaller than its wavelength. Now the co-inventor of the quantum-cascade laser has devised an optical antenna that enables QC lasers to perform submicron scans by focusing the laser's spot with nanoscale accuracy.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202600779