China recently developed its first 5-8 micron wave band semi-conductor laser device. Ever since, China has become the second country after the United States capable of producing the device used in relaying telecommunications signals.

The device, developed by researcher Li Aizhen and her team at the Shanghai Institute of Metallurgy under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is applicable in the fields of telecommunications, environmental protection and national security, said experts with the institute. "This device is indispensable in the telecommunications industry for transmitting and receiving signals," said the experts.