nanowires tagged posts

Physics researchers at Lund University in Sweden recently succeeded in constructing small solar radiation-collecting antennas—nanowires—using three different materials that are a better match for the solar spectrum compared with today’s silicon solar cells. As the nanowires are light and require little material per unit of area, they are now to be installed for tests on satellites, which are powered by solar cells and where efficiency, in combination with low weight, is the most important factor...

A newly developed stealth sheet can hide hot objects like human bodies or military vehicles from infrared cameras. Credit: PHOTO BY HONGRUI JIANG

Infrared cameras are the heat-sensing eyes that help drones find their targets even in the dead of night or through heavy fog. Hiding from such detectors could become much easier, thanks to a new cloaking material that renders objects – and people – practically invisible. “What we have shown is an ultrathin stealth ‘sheet.’ Right now, what people have is much heavier metal armor or thermal blankets,” says Hongrui Jiang, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Warm objects like human bodies or tank engines emit heat as infrared light...

Mantis Shrimp-inspired Camera enables Glimpse into Hidden World

By mimicking the eye of the mantis shrimp, Illinois researchers have developed an ultra-sensitive camera capable of sensing both color and polarization. The bioinspired imager can potentially improve early cancer detection and help provide a new understanding of underwater phenomena. “The animal kingdom is full of creatures with much more sensitive and sophisticated eyes than our own,” said Viktor Gruev , a University of Illinois professor of electrical and computer engineering and co-author of the new study. “These animals perceive natural phenomena that are invisible to humans.

“Polarization of light – that is, the direction of oscillation of light as it propagates in space – is one such example...

Top: High-resolution electron microscopy images of a nickel silicide rhombic nanocrystal embedded in a silicon nanowire prepared with gold silicide used as a catalyst. The images demonstrate the intimate interactions that arise at the interfaces of these nanomaterials. Bottom: The physical properties that arise from such complex nano-systems could be used in next-generation photodetectors, lasers, and transistors.

Scientists have tailored extremely small wires that carry light and electrons which could open up a potential path to smaller, lighter, or more efficient devices. This development could lead to highly tailored nanowires for new classes of high-performance, energy-efficient computing, communications, and environmental and medical sensing systems...