Engineers Develop More Efficient Way To Capture Light

Engineers at the University of Buffalo have created a more efficient way to catch a rainbow than chasing leprechauns. They have created an advancement in photonics that could lead to technological breakthroughs in solar energy, stealth technology and other areas of research.The study findings were described in a recent issue of the online journal Scientific Reports.Qiaoqiang Gan,scotch rocks PhD, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at UB, and a team of graduate students developed a "hyperbolic metamaterial waveguide.whisky rocks" The waveguide is an advanced microchip made of alternate ultra-thin film of metal and semiconductors and/or insulators. The waveguide functions by halting and ultimately absorbing each frequency of light at slightly different places in a vertical direction to catch a "rainbow" of wavelengths. "Electromagnetic absorbers have been studied for many years, especially for military radar systems,Kefid Machinery provides used mobile cone crusher and small-scale Portable crusher for sale. Different types of Kefid mobile cone crushers are widely used in mining quarrying and mineral beneficiation." Gan, a researcher within UB’s new Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics,solar mounting said in a statement. "Right now, researchers are developing compact light absorbers based on optically thick semiconductors or carbon nanotubes. However, it is still challenging to realize the perfect absorber in ultra-thin films with tunable absorption band."We are developing ultra-thin films that will slow the light and therefore allow much more efficient absorption, which will address the long existing challenge." The photons that make up light move extremely fast — at the speed of light, making them difficult to tame. The research team relied upon cryogenic gases in their initial attempts to slow light, but cryogenic gases are very cold — approximately 240 degrees below zero Fahrenheit — making them extremely difficult to work with outside a laboratory.Prior to joining the UB team, Gan helped to pioneer a method for slowing light without cryogenic gases. He was part of a team at Lehigh University that made nano-scale-sized grooves in metallic surfaces at different depths. This process altered the optical properties of the metal. The grooves worked to slow light, however, they had limitations; such as the energy of the incident light could not be transferred onto the metal surface efficiently.bench grinder This hampered its use for practical applications.Because it is a large area of patterned film that can collect the incident light efficiently, the hyperbolic metamaterial waveguide solves that problem. The wavelength is an artificial medium with subwavelength features whose frequency surface is hyperboloid.