Researchers develop cheap, effective nanoparticle infrared detector
By Donald Melanson 
posted July 26th 2006 8:59AM
posted July 26th 2006 8:59AM
MIT's venerable Technology Review reports that a team of Canadian researchers led by Edward Sargent have devised a highly sensitive infrared chip that could potentially make night-vision goggles and other imaging devices both cheaper and more effective by using, what else, nanotechnology. The system involves spinning a glass slide or silicon chip to evenly coat it with a special solution of conducting nanoparticles called quantum dots -- something that can be done for as little as $17 per square meter, Sargent says. With the solution, the chip is able to pick up both the near and short-wave infrared (SWIR) bands, allowing for accurate night vision even in cloudy conditions. What's more, Sargent says the technology could also be applied to medical devices, since SWIR light can apparently easily pass through tissue at no risk to the patient. Your guess is as good as ours as to when we'll actually see any of this outside of the lab, but with the promise of higher yields than traditional fabrication processes, there's definitely an incentive to push this tech out the door.[Via Medgadget]
wow. nightvision goggles.
wow the NVGs from GRAW are real now.
How long till we have x-ray glasses?
Quantum dots are not "special conducting nanoparticles" but something made from them. It is a 0-D structure that acts as a trap for waves (electrons photons whatever) with certain energy levels (in its most used form).
I think the trap is aligned for IR region and works in
the same fashion as an IR detector, a photon is captured and an electron is ejected via a work function but with a huge gain in efficency. In the traditional manner, this is done by cooling the detector. In military grade equipment this cooling is very expensive and often involves liquid nitrogen or such. So they really have done a great thing. But the real trick is in the cost, you can produce any kind of quantum dot nowadays, but the process is hard and not as massive.
Next step in this technology is quantum computers you know, spintronics is also on its way.
Funny how MIT is the only university name-dropped in a piece on UofT research...