Phys.org December 2, 2021
An international team of researchers (UK, Belgium, Spain) used a single layer of molecules to absorb the mid-infrared light inside their vibrating chemical bonds. These shaking molecules donate their energy to visible light that they encounter, ‘upconverting’ it to emissions closer to the blue end of the spectrum, which can then be detected by visible-light cameras. The challenge was to make sure the quaking molecules met the visible light quickly enough. They devised a way to sandwich single molecular layers between a mirror and tiny chunks of gold to twist and squeeze light. The researchers emphasize that while it is early days, there are many ways to optimize the performance of these inexpensive molecular detectors, which then can access rich information in this window of the spectrum. The work opens new low-cost ways to sense contaminants, track cancers, check gas mixtures, and remotely sense the outer universe and many technologies can benefit from this new detector advance…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
….demonstrated a new concept in detecting infrared light, showing how to convert it into visible light, which is easily detected. Credit: NanoPhotonics Cambridge/Ermanno Miele, Jeremy Baumberg