Researchers tapping into nanotechnology for sharper images

A team of scientists at the University of Glasgow just came into all sorts of cash, and they'll be using it to advance imaging. If you're looking for specifics (and we're assuming you are), a £489,234 grant from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council will be used to study a certain phenomenon called surface plasmon resonance, "which is an effect exhibited by certain metals when light waves fall onto their surfaces." In short, the gurus behind the research are hoping to discover a method of "creating patterns or small nanostructures in the metal film on the CMOS, which should increase the sensitivity of the sensor and result in higher quality images." The bad news? The project is expected to last until 2012, which is like, forever from now.

[Image courtesy of Photo]

[霽月瀛台 @ Jan 4th 2009 4:10AM]

oh.... long living , everyone.

[Charlie Calhoun @ Jan 4th 2009 4:12AM]

err.. okay..?

[Trevor @ Jan 4th 2009 4:44AM]

love everyone long time?

[luzzio @ Jan 4th 2009 5:24AM]

Thanks.

And I, too, pray you live long enough to enjoy the fruits of this research.

[Danny @ Jan 4th 2009 7:46AM]

Sorry to be a first comment irrelevant reply.

BUT I GO TO GLASGOW UNIVERSITY

GU w00p!

[phanbouy fan fan @ Jan 4th 2009 11:23AM]

finally the nanotechnology and overzealous TOP POSTING will enable me to play CRYSIS in teh VERY VERY VERY VERY HIGH mode

/Flashpoint

[xconan @ Jan 4th 2009 11:31AM]

doesn't the mayan calendar end in 2012? maybe some ET lifeforms will drop by sometime near 2012...

[ctgaffney @ Jan 4th 2009 1:03PM]

In 2020 we'll look back at the 2012 Mayan calender scare just like we look back and laugh at 1999-2000's Y2K stupidity.

[razel @ Jan 4th 2009 4:19AM]

I bow my head in humility to 霽月瀛台 wise words.Long living everyone indeed.

[SiXiam @ Jan 4th 2009 4:37AM]

Yeah, it seems sort of silly to hope for products that aren't even out of the research phase, yet alone development...

[Tim @ Jan 4th 2009 5:45AM]

From what I remember of surface plasmon resonance, it's single-wavelength enhancement, or narrow band anyway. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy uses this effect - it was 'accidentally' discovered by several researchers looking at pyridine bound to a silver electrode.

"Sharper images" are likely a long way off, and probably buzzwords thrown in to secure grants - seems to have paid off? More immediate benefits of research would be in spectroscopy and possibly medical imaging.

[Wwhat @ Jan 5th 2009 6:06PM]

Since the thing has been studied since 1957 I read, and it's already been used for various things I think this group is in fact trying to find a way to use it in this specialised manner, that is for regular image sensors, the use for other sensors has and is been done already after all.
I quote:
""We'll be using nanotechnology to manipulate particles, so as to take advantage of the properties of electrons to create a new optical effect," Professor David Cumming of Glasgow University who is leading the research team."
and:
"Researchers also want to try and "tune" resonating plasmons into the same frequency as light, which could improve colour discrimination."

[Fernando G. @ Jan 4th 2009 6:16AM]

i bet they'll get a great picture of the apocalypse

[maty @ Jan 4th 2009 6:27AM]

But in 2012 it'll bring out the wrinkles I'll have by then!

[HOOPER @ Jan 4th 2009 1:01PM]

For a second there I swore the headline read "Researchers tapping into nanotechnology for Sharper Image"...

[rg @ Jan 4th 2009 1:31PM]

Not First!

[Darren Burns @ Jan 4th 2009 3:20PM]

Nice.. Imma look into this.

Yayy.. hopefully Glasgow Uni is where I'll be studying when I'm older :D........

So does this mean super super resolution monitors etc if this study proves a success?

[Alex G @ Jan 4th 2009 5:26PM]

Tim is right. SPP resonances are EM waves that exist in metal, have somewhat narrow (although engineerable) linewidths and are SUPER lossy and inefficient. Also, since SPP waves obey the diffraction limit just like any other light wave, it is unclear how these researchers would use this phenomenon to do anything ground-breaking in terms of image resolution enhancement. Using surface plasmons for this purpose is NOT a new idea, and has already been proven to be severely limited in application.

Sorry to rain on the parade.

[Eli Gundry @ Jan 4th 2009 7:40PM]

I gotta ask: Will this give me an image that is on par with or better than a film one?