Phys.org September 5, 2019
An international team of researchers (UK, China) used a nanowire whose material composition is varied along its length, enabling it to be responsive to different colours of light across the visible spectrum. They created a series of light-responsive sections on this nanowire. Individual responses from the nanowire sections can then be directly fed into a computer algorithm to reconstruct the incident light spectrum. Every pixel of the device contains data points from across the visible spectrum, providing detailed information. This can tell us, for instance, about chemical processes occurring in the frame of the image. One of the most promising potential uses of the nanowire could be in biology as it can directly image single cells without the need for a microscope. Other potential applications include assessing the freshness of foods, the quality of drugs, or identifying counterfeit objects, all from a smartphone camera…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Credit: CC0 Public Domain