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Research Using CrystaLaser Lasers
Published literature survey · updated October 2026
For nearly three decades, scientists have named CrystaLaser lasers in their published papers. A search of open full-text journals finds 1,080 papers from 1998 to 2026. 33 of them are co-authored by nine Nobel laureates, including the 2026 Nobel Prize-winning optogenetics research of Karl Deisseroth and Georg Nagel. CrystaLaser lasers also appear in LIGO technical documents on the photon calibrators of the gravitational-wave observatory honored by the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics.
1,080papers name CrystaLaser as a laser source
33papers co-authored by 9 Nobel laureates
188optogenetics papers
249papers in Nature, Science, Cell family journals, Neuron, PNAS and eLife
Papers Co-authored by Nobel Laureates
Each entry quotes the sentence from the paper that names the CrystaLaser laser. The last column gives the wavelengths in that sentence.
| Year | Paper and the CrystaLaser line in it | Wavelength |
|---|
| Karl Deisseroth · Nobel Prize 2026 Medicine · 19 papers |
| 2007 | Targeting and readout strategies for fast optical neural control in vitro and in vivo. Gradinaru V … Deisseroth K · The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience FC/PC-coupled fiber optic is shown (middle) coupled to a 473 nm laser diode from CrystaLaser (Reno, NV) through an FC/PC adapter … | 473 nm |
| 2007 | An optical neural interface: in vivo control of rodent motor cortex with integrated fiberoptic and optogenetic technology. Aravanis AM … Deisseroth K · Journal of Neural Engineering Stimulation of ChR2+ neurons was accomplished using a multimode optical fiber (NA 0.37) with a 200 µm silica core (BFL37–200; Thorlabs) coupled to a 473 nm diode pumped laser (20 mW output power uncoupled; CrystaLaser). | 473 nm |
| 2007 | Multimodal fast optical interrogation of neural circuitry. Zhang F … Deisseroth K · Nature Simultaneous activation of NpHR and ChR2 was achieved using either the GFP/mRFP1 dual bandpass filter (51022x, Chroma) or the combination of a 473 nm blue diode laser (Crystal Lasers) and a 300 W Lambda DG-4 with a 593 nm excitation filter. | 473, 593 nm |
| 2008 | eNpHR: a Natronomonas halorhodopsin enhanced for optogenetic applications. Gradinaru V … Deisseroth K · Brain cell biology The fiberoptic was coupled to a 561 nm laser diode from CrystaLaser (Reno, NV) | 561 nm |
| 2010 | Molecular and cellular approaches for diversifying and extending optogenetics. Gradinaru V … Deisseroth K · Cell The optical fiber was coupled to a 473 nm (for ChR2) or 560 nm (for eNpHR3.0) laser diode (10 mW fiber output) from CrystaLaser. | 473, 560 nm |
| 2010 | Genetic dissection of an amygdala microcircuit that gates conditioned fear. Haubensak W … Anderson DJ · Nature Four weeks later, neurons were light-stimulated, in acute brain slices, through a 200 μm optical fiber (Thorlabs) emitting 5-10 mW 473 nm laser light (Crystalaser) | 473 nm |
| 2010 | Optogenetic interrogation of neural circuits: technology for probing mammalian brain structures. Zhang F … Deisseroth K · Nature protocols 473 nm diode laser (Cryst Laser, cat. no. BCL-473-050; 50mW, 473nm, TEMoo CW laser with TTL on/off, analog output intensity modulation, PC connector at laser output) | 473 nm |
| 2010 | Drug-driven AMPA receptor redistribution mimicked by selective dopamine neuron stimulation. Brown MT … Lüscher C · PloS one A fiber optic cable (Thorlabs, Munich, Germany) was then lowered through the guide cannula so that ∼50 µm of fiber protruded from the guide cannula, and attached to a 473 nm solid-state laser (Crystalaser, Reno, NV) | 473 nm |
| 2011 | Optetrode: a multichannel readout for optogenetic control in freely moving mice. Anikeeva P … Deisseroth K · Nature neuroscience … 0-expressing mice, we used a green diode-pumped solid-state laser (λ = 561 nm, CrystaLaser) in continuous wave mode and power density of 160–260 mW mm −2 at the tip of the fiber … | 561 nm |
| 2012 | Activation of specific interneurons improves V1 feature selectivity and visual perception. Lee SH … Dan Y · Nature Optical activation and silencing A blue laser (473 nm) combined with a yellow laser (593 nm) (CrystaLaser) or a green laser (532 nm; Shanghai Laser & Optics Century Co … | 473, 593, 532 nm |
| 2012 | Optogenetic and potassium channel gene therapy in a rodent model of focal neocortical epilepsy. Wykes RC … Kullmann DM · Science translational medicine The implanted optic cannula was connected to a 561-nm laser (CrystaLaser) via a fiber-optic patch cord (NA, 0 … | 561 nm |
| 2013 | GABAergic projection neurons route selective olfactory inputs to specific higher-order neurons. Liang L … Luo L · Neuron ChR2 TR was activated by a 473 nm diode pumped blue solid-state laser (CrystaLaser 60mW) | 473 nm |
| 2013 | Optogenetic delay of status epilepticus onset in an in vivo rodent epilepsy model. Sukhotinsky I … Cash SS · PloS one The optical fiber was coupled to a 561 nm laser (CrystaLaser) through an FC/PC connector … | 561 nm |
| 2013 | Optical inhibition of motor nerve and muscle activity in vivo. Liske H … Delp S · Muscle & nerve Illumination Illumination was from a diode-pumped solid-state yellow-green laser (561 nm; CrystaLaser, Reno, Nevada) via a multimode optical fiber (400- μ m diameter, 0 … | 561 nm |
| 2014 | Optical neural interfaces. Warden MR … Deisseroth K · Annual review of biomedical engineering Lasers with the capacity to deliver up to 100-mW (or more) light power are typically used in the laboratory and are commercially available from several sources (OEM Laser Systems, CrystaLaser, Cobolt, Laser-Glow, Thorlabs, Omicron, and OptoEngine) Review: lists CrystaLaser among laser vendors. | |
| 2018 | Brain-wide Electrical Spatiotemporal Dynamics Encode Depression Vulnerability. Hultman R … Dzirasa K · Cell … 5 mW (473nm wavelength, CrystaLaser, CL473-025-O), and the laser output was verified using a Power meter (Thorlabs, PM100D) | 473 nm |
| 2019 | Thalamic Reticular Nucleus Parvalbumin Neurons Regulate Sleep Spindles and Electrophysiological Aspects of Schizophrenia in Mice. Thankachan S … Basheer R · Scientific reports Optogenetic stimulation was performed using a 473 nm laser (DL473–80–0, Crystalaser Inc … | 473 nm |
| 2020 | Basal Forebrain Parvalbumin Neurons Mediate Arousals from Sleep Induced by Hypercarbia or Auditory Stimuli. McKenna JT … Basheer R · Current biology : CB Optical stimulation was performed bilaterally to excite BF-PV neurons transduced with ChR2 using a fiber-coupled 473-nm solid-state laser diode (Cat # CL473–050-O; 20 mW; CrystaLaser; Reno, Nevada) and an optical fiber (Doric Lenses) connected to the implanted fiber optic cannula with a zirconium sleeve … | 473 nm |
| 2021 | Optogenetic manipulation of an ascending arousal system tunes cortical broadband gamma power and reveals functional deficits relevant to schizophrenia. McNally JM … Brown RE · Molecular psychiatry ChR2 stimulation or ArchT inhibition was performed using a blue laser (473nm; Model No CL473–050-O or DL473–80-O, CrystaLaser), or green laser (532nm; MGL-III-543/1~100mW, OptoEngine), respectively … | 473, 532 nm |
| Georg Nagel · Nobel Prize 2026 Medicine · 1 paper |
| 2007 | Multimodal fast optical interrogation of neural circuitry. Zhang F … Deisseroth K · Nature Simultaneous activation of NpHR and ChR2 was achieved using either the GFP/mRFP1 dual bandpass filter (51022x, Chroma) or the combination of a 473 nm blue diode laser (Crystal Lasers) and a 300 W Lambda DG-4 with a 593 nm excitation filter. | 473, 593 nm |
| David Baker · Nobel Prize 2024 Chemistry · 2 papers |
| 2017 | Surrogate Wnt agonists that phenocopy canonical Wnt and β-catenin signalling. Janda CY … Garcia KC · Nature A 561 nm diode solid state laser (CL-561-200, CrystaLaser) and a 642 nm laser diode (Luxx 642-140, Omicron) were coupled into the microscope for excitation … | 561, 642 nm |
| 2019 | Topological control of cytokine receptor signaling induces differential effects in hematopoiesis. Mohan K … Garcia KC · Science (New York, N.Y.) Rho11 was excited by a 561 nm laser (CrystaLaser) at 0 … | 561 nm |
| Eric Betzig · Nobel Prize 2014 Chemistry · 3 papers |
| 2008 | Photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM) of adhesion complexes. Shroff H … Betzig E · Current protocols in cell biology The authors use a 50-mW 405-nm laser (Coherent, 405-50C) for activation, a 150-mW 561-nm laser (Crystalaser, GCL-150-561) to excite the active state of EosFP, and a 50-mW 488-nm laser (Newport Spectra-Physics Cyan Scientific Laser) for imaging the inactive state of EosFP or the activated state of Dronpa … | 405, 561, 488 nm |
| 2013 | Photoactivated Localization Microscopy (PALM) of adhesion complexes. Shroff H … Betzig E · Current protocols in cell biology The authors use a 50-mW 405-nm laser (Coherent, 405-50C) for activation, a 150-mW 561-nm laser (Crystalaser, GCL-150-561) to excite the active state of EosFP, and a 50-mW 488-nm laser (Newport Spectra-Physics Cyan Scientific Laser) for imaging the inactive state of EosFP or the activated state of Dronpa … | 405, 561, 488 nm |
| 2014 | Rapid adaptive optical recovery of optimal resolution over large volumes. Wang K … Betzig E · Nature methods The visible excitation subsystem begins when four CW lasers (λ = 440 nm, 50 mW, CrystaLaser; λ = 488 nm, 200 mW, Coherent Sapphire 488 LP; λ = 514 nm, 300 mW, MPB Communications, model 2RU-VFL-P-300-514-R; and λ = 561 nm, 200 mW, Coherent Sapphire 561 LP) are expanded to a common a 1/e 2 di … | 440, 488, 514, 561 nm |
| Stefan Hell · Nobel Prize 2014 Chemistry · 2 papers |
| 2012 | rsEGFP2 enables fast RESOLFT nanoscopy of living cells. Grotjohann T … Jakobs S · eLife The third focal spot, again with a normal diffraction-limited Gaussian profile, was generated by a laser diode at 405 nm wavelength (30 mW, BCL-030-405-S, CrystaLaser, Reno, NV, USA) and used for the on-switching of rsEGFP2 … | 405 nm |
| 2015 | CRISPR/Cas9-mediated endogenous protein tagging for RESOLFT super-resolution microscopy of living human cells. Ratz M … Jakobs S · Scientific reports The third focal spot, again with a regularly focused profile, was generated by a laser diode at 405 nm wavelength (30 mW, BCL-030-405-S, CrystaLaser, Reno, NV, USA) and used for the ON-switching of the fluorescent protein … | 405 nm |
| Thomas Sudhof · Nobel Prize 2013 Medicine · 2 papers |
| 2016 | C-terminal domain of mammalian complexin-1 localizes to highly curved membranes. Gong J … Diao J · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America All experiments were performed on a prism-type total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscope using 532 nm (green) laser (CrystaLaser) excitation … | 532 nm |
| 2023 | Neutral lysophosphatidylcholine mediates α-synuclein-induced synaptic vesicle clustering. Lai Y … Diao J · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America All experiments were performed on a prism-type total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscope using 532 nm (green) laser (CrystaLaser, Reno, NV) excitation … | 532 nm |
| Brian Kobilka · Nobel Prize 2012 Chemistry · 1 paper |
| 2007 | A monomeric G protein-coupled receptor isolated in a high-density lipoprotein particle efficiently activates its G protein. Whorton MR … Sunahara RK · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America A 532-nm green diode-pumped frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser (for Cy3 excitation, Compass 215M; Coherent, Santa Clara, CA) and a 638-nm red diode laser (for Cy5 excitation, RCL-638–025; Crystalaser, Reno, NV) are used as the excitation sources … | 532, 638 nm |
| Richard Axel · Nobel Prize 2004 Medicine · 1 paper |
| 2020 | Transient and Persistent Representations of Odor Value in Prefrontal Cortex. Wang PY … Axel R · Neuron For bilateral photo-inhibition experiments, a 560 nm laser (CrystaLaser) was used for mice expressing either the halorhodopsin NpHR or YFP … | 560 nm |
| Steven Chu · Nobel Prize 1997 Physics · 3 papers |
| 2007 | Fluctuations of transfer RNAs between classical and hybrid states. Kim HD … Chu S · Biophysical journal In a FRET scheme, molecules were excited by a 532 nm laser (CrystaLaser, Reno, NV), and fluorescence light was collected by a 60×, 1 … | 532 nm |
| 2007 | Thiostrepton inhibition of tRNA delivery to the ribosome. Gonzalez RL Jr … Puglisi JD · RNA (New York, N.Y.) Cy3-labeled molecules were excited using a diode-pumped 532 nm laser (CrystaLaser) | 532 nm |
| 2007 | Measuring the folding transition time of single RNA molecules. Lee TH … Chu S · Biophysical journal The Cy3 dye is excited with the second harmonic of a CW Nd:YAG laser (CrystaLaser GCL-532-L; Reno, NV) focused to a 0 … | |
Gravitational-Wave Detection: LIGO
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) made the first direct detection of gravitational waves in 2015, from the merger of two black holes. Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne received the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for their contributions to LIGO and the observation of gravitational waves.
LIGO's photon calibrators use the radiation pressure of a power-modulated 1047 nm laser to push the interferometer's test-mass mirrors by a known amount. This gives an independent, absolute calibration of the detector's strain signal. LIGO's public technical documents record CrystaLaser lasers in this work:
| Year | LIGO document and what it says | Laser |
|---|
| 2003 | LIGO-T030266: Calibration of the LIGO Interferometer Using the Recoil of Photons J. Bruursema · LIGO Hanford Observatory technical note (SURF report) “The first photon calibrator device has been built and tested. It consists of a 500mW Nd:YLF laser at 1047nm…” Footnote: “IFCL-500-1047, Diode Pumped Infrared CrystaLaser.” The calibrator was installed at the X end station of the 4 km LIGO Hanford interferometer. | 1047 nm, 500 mW Nd:YLF |
| c. 2010 | LIGO-M1000233: LLO CrystaLaser SOP D. Kinzel, R. Amin, D. Sellers · LIGO Livingston Observatory “Standard Operating Procedure for the CrystaLaser laser at LLO.” | – |
| 2014 | LIGO-T1100068: Advanced LIGO Photon Calibrator Final Design J. Berliner et al. · LIGO Laboratory Relative power noise was measured for “two candidate lasers, a 500 mW unit sold by CrystaLaser and a 500 mW microFlare laser sold by InnoLight.” | 1047 nm, 500 mW |
These are technical documents rather than journal papers, so they are not counted in the 1,080 total. See also the CrystaLaser infrared lasers, including 1047 nm Nd:YLF.
Most-Cited Papers Using CrystaLaser Lasers
All of the 15 most-cited papers in the survey name a CrystaLaser laser. The most cited, Hess et al. 2006, introduced fluorescence photoactivation localization microscopy (FPALM) using a CrystaLaser 405 nm laser. It was published at the same time as Eric Betzig's PALM, the work honored by the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
| Cited by | Paper |
|---|
| 2,235 | Ultra-high resolution imaging by fluorescence photoactivation localization microscopy. Hess ST … Mason MD · Biophysical journal · 2006 A second beam from a diode-pumped solid-state laser at 405 nm (BCL-405-15, low noise model, Crystalaser, Reno, NV) was directed onto DM1 to (upon reflection) be approximately colinear with the Argon ion laser beam … |
| 1,061 | Cortical interneurons that specialize in disinhibitory control. Pi HJ … Kepecs A · Nature · 2013 … 2, CrystaLaser, UltraLasers or Lasermate Group Inc … Lists CrystaLaser among alternative laser sources. |
| 974 | AGRP neurons are sufficient to orchestrate feeding behavior rapidly and without training. Aponte Y … Sternson SM · Nature neuroscience · 2011 Photostimulation in brain slices A laser (473 nm, CrystaLaser) was used to deliver light pulses at 0 … |
| 815 | Molecular and cellular approaches for diversifying and extending optogenetics. Gradinaru V … Deisseroth K · Cell · 2010 The optical fiber was coupled to a 473 nm (for ChR2) or 560 nm (for eNpHR3.0) laser diode (10 mW fiber output) from CrystaLaser. |
| 723 | An oxygen scavenging system for improvement of dye stability in single-molecule fluorescence experiments. Aitken CE … Puglisi JD · Biophysical journal · 2008 Fluorophores were excited with laser lines at 532 nm (CrystaLaser, Reno, NV), 647 nm (CrystaLaser), and 488 nm (Coherent, Santa Clara, CA); laser intensities were ∼1 kW/cm 2 , 400 W/cm 2 , and 320 W/cm 2 , respectively … |
| 713 | Genetic dissection of an amygdala microcircuit that gates conditioned fear. Haubensak W … Anderson DJ · Nature · 2010 Four weeks later, neurons were light-stimulated, in acute brain slices, through a 200 μm optical fiber (Thorlabs) emitting 5-10 mW 473 nm laser light (Crystalaser) |
| 658 | Structure-guided evolution of cyan fluorescent proteins towards a quantum yield of 93%. Goedhart J … Royant A · Nature communications · 2012 Fluorescence excitation was performed by using 440 nm lasers (CrystaLaser) |
| 619 | Control of timing, rate and bursts of hippocampal place cells by dendritic and somatic inhibition. Royer S … Buzsáki G · Nature neuroscience · 2012 Light stimulation A DPSS laser (561 nm, 100 mW, Crystalaser) controlled by transistor-transistor logic was used for halorhodopsin activation … |
| 581 | Superresolution imaging of chemical synapses in the brain. Dani A … Zhuang X · Neuron · 2010 Four activation/imaging lasers (405 nm from CUBE 405-50C, Coherent, 460 nm from Sapphire 460-10, Coherent, 532 nm from GCL-200-L, Crystalaser, and 657 nm from RCL-200-656, Crystalaser) were individually shuttered and then coupled into a single-mode optical fiber (OZ Optics) |
| 580 | Protein-retention expansion microscopy of cells and tissues labeled using standard fluorescent proteins and antibodies. Tillberg PW … Boyden ES · Nature biotechnology · 2016 Stroboscopic 405-nm excitation of the Stradus 405-100 laser (Vortran) was achieved using a NI-DAQ-USB-6363 acquisition board (National Instruments), Photoconverted Dendra2 molecules were excited with a 555-nm DPSS laser (CrystaLaser) at estimated sample power levels of 2 kW/cm 2 … |
| 542 | A FLEX switch targets Channelrhodopsin-2 to multiple cell types for imaging and long-range circuit mapping. Atasoy D … Sternson SM · The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2008 A blue laser (473 nm; CrystaLaser) was used to deliver photostimuli ranging from 0 … |
| 541 | Visualizing infection of individual influenza viruses. Lakadamyali M … Zhuang X · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2003 DiD-labeled viruses were excited with a 633-nm helium–neon laser (Melles-Griot), whereas Cy3/Cypher5-labeled viruses were simultaneously excited with a 532-nm diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser (CrystaLaser, Reno, NV) and the helium–neon laser … |
| 539 | Activation of specific interneurons improves V1 feature selectivity and visual perception. Lee SH … Dan Y · Nature · 2012 Optical activation and silencing A blue laser (473 nm) combined with a yellow laser (593 nm) (CrystaLaser) or a green laser (532 nm; Shanghai Laser & Optics Century Co … |
| 532 | A monomeric G protein-coupled receptor isolated in a high-density lipoprotein particle efficiently activates its G protein. Whorton MR … Sunahara RK · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2007 A 532-nm green diode-pumped frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser (for Cy3 excitation, Compass 215M; Coherent, Santa Clara, CA) and a 638-nm red diode laser (for Cy5 excitation, RCL-638–025; Crystalaser, Reno, NV) are used as the excitation sources … |
| 525 | Fast, three-dimensional super-resolution imaging of live cells. Jones SA … Zhuang X · Nature methods · 2011 Six laser beams at wavelengths of 657 nm (RCL-300-656; Crystalaser), 561 nm (Sapphire 561-250; Coherent), 532 nm (GCL-200-L; Crystalaser), 514 nm (Sapphire 514-50; Coherent), 460 nm (Sapphire 460-10; Coherent) and 405 nm (CUBE 405-50C; Coherent) were individually controlled by mechanical shutters (Uniblitz LS6T2; Vincent Associates) a … |
Research Fields
Number of papers in each field, from full-text keyword matches. One paper can count in more than one field.
| Field | Related Nobel Prize | Papers |
|---|
| GFP / fluorescent proteins | 2008 Chemistry | 375 | | Single-molecule fluorescence / smFRET | 2014 Chemistry, Moerner | 344 | | Optogenetics | 2026 Medicine | 188 | | Super-resolution microscopy PALM/STORM/STED/RESOLFT | 2014 Chemistry | 184 | | Place/grid cells, hippocampus | 2014 Medicine | 98 | | Optical tweezers / trapping | 2018 Physics | 70 | | Synaptic vesicle release | 2013 Medicine | 48 | | Quantum dots | 2023 Chemistry | 33 | | Light-sheet microscopy | Betzig lattice light-sheet | 26 | | Circadian rhythm | 2017 Medicine | 17 | | CRISPR | 2020 Chemistry | 16 | Papers per year: 2005: 7 · 2006: 11 · 2007: 22 · 2008: 23 · 2009: 26 · 2010: 50 · 2011: 43 · 2012: 57 · 2013: 81 · 2014: 75 · 2015: 76 · 2016: 72 · 2017: 71 · 2018: 60 · 2019: 60 · 2020: 60 · 2021: 59 · 2022: 60 · 2023: 52 · 2024: 49 · 2025: 33 · 2026: 25.
Lasers Used in This Research
How This Survey Was Made
- Europe PMC full-text search for “CrystaLaser”, “Crysta Laser”, “Crystal Laser” with “Reno”, and “Cryst Laser”, October 2026.
- Europe PMC searches the full text of open-access life-science papers only. Physics and optics journals and most paywalled papers are not included, so the real number of papers is higher.
- Two 2007 papers that are not in open full text (Aravanis et al., J Neural Eng; Zhang et al., Nature) were checked against the published PDFs.
- Nobel laureate co-authors were matched by name and checked by hand. Two papers list CrystaLaser as one of several possible suppliers and are marked.
- LIGO documents were found in the public LIGO Document Control Center and quoted from the published PDFs.
- Citation counts are from Europe PMC and are usually lower than Google Scholar counts.
Quotations are from the cited publications and appear here for reference. Listing a paper does not mean that its authors or their institutions endorse CrystaLaser. CrystaLaser is not affiliated with the Nobel Foundation. Nobel Prize® is a registered trademark of the Nobel Foundation. If you have published research using a CrystaLaser laser and would like it listed, please contact us.
Related pages:
CrystaLaser and the 2026 Nobel Prize |
Blue lasers |
Yellow lasers |
Fiber-coupled lasers
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