A semiconductor laser in which the electron beam that provides pumping action in a thin plate of cadmium sulfide or other material is swept electrically in two dimensions by a deflection yoke, much as in a cathode-ray tube.

The resulting laser output beam moves correspondingly, to provide high-speed scanning for data retrieval and imaging applications.

The beam can be electronically blanked, unblanked, or modulated with analog video signals for the projection of picture or other graphic data.