GEN-ERIC News

U.S. scientists have overcome a problem involved in optical technology by creating a way to predict the behavior of light emitted on the nanoscale. Nanolight behaves much differently as its wavelength is interrupted, producing unstable waves called evanescent waves. The direction of those unpredictable waves can’t be calculated, so researchers must design nanotechnologies to work with the tiny, yet potentially useful, waves of light. Georgia Institute of Technology scientists have discovered a way to predict the behavior of light waves during nanoscale radiation heat transfer, thus opening the door to the design of a spectrum of new nanodevices and nanotechnologies, including solar thermal energy technologies. This discovery gives us the fundamental information to determine things like how far apart plates should be and what size they should be when designing a technology that uses nanoscale radiation heat transfer, said Professor Zhuomin Zhang, a lead researcher on the project. “Understanding the behavior of light at this scale is the key to designing technologies to take advantage of the unique capabilities of this phenomenon.