Laser laser devices. The question of just how to assign credit for inventing the laser remains unresolved by historians. On May 16, 1960, Theodore H. Maiman operated the first functioning laser at Hughes Research Laboratories, Malibu, California, ahead of several research teams, including those of Townes, at Columbia University, Arthur Schawlow, at Bell Labs, and Gould, at the TRG (Technical Research Group) company. Maiman's functional laser used a solid-state flashlamp-pumped synthetic ruby crystal to produce red laser light, at 694 nanometers wavelength; however, the device only was capable of pulsed operation, because of its three-level pumping design scheme. Later that year,
Quantum well laser cascade laser design. The story of the origin of the quantum well concept, its experimental verification, and the invention of the quantum well laser is told by Henry in more detail in the Foreword to "Quantum Well Lasers," ed. by Peter S. Zory, Jr. Quantum well lasers are important because they are the basic active element (laser light source) of the Internet fiber optic communication. Early work on these lasers focused on GaAs gallium arsenide based wells bounded by Al-GaAs walls, but wavelengths transmitted by optical fibers are best achieved with indium phosphide walls with indium gallium arsenide phosphide based