semiconductor laser

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A solid-state laser, constructed like a semiconductor diode, in which electrons and holes come together at the junction of cathode and anode, emitting bandgap radiation as in a light-emitting diode. Semiconductor lasers are constructed so that the resulting light tends to stimulate nearby pairs of electrons and holes to undergo the same process, inducing stimulated emission of laser light.