An international team of researchers has reported a new way to safeguard drones, surveillance cameras and other equipment against laser attacks, which can disable or destroy the equipment. The capability is known as optical limiting.
The work, published in the journal Nature Communication, also describes a superior manner of telecom switching without the use of electronics; instead, they use an all-optical method that could improve the speed and capacity of internet communications. That could remove a roadblock in moving from 4GLTE to 5G networks.
The team reported that a material created using tellurium nanorods – produced by naturally occurring bacteria – is an effective nonlinear optical material, capable of protecting electronic devices against high-intensity bursts of light, including those emitted by inexpensive household lasers targeted at aircraft, drones or other critical systems. The researchers describe the material and its performance as a material of choice for next-generation optoelectronic and photonic devices.
Seamus Curran, a physics professor at the University of Houston and one of the paper’s authors, said while most optical materials are chemically synthesized, using a biologically-based nanomaterial proved less expensive and less toxic. “We found a cheaper, easier, simpler way to manufacture the material,” he said. “We let Mother Nature do it.”
The new findings grew out of earlier work by Curran and his team, working in collaboration with Werner J. Blau of Trinity College Dublin and Ron Oremland with the U.S. Geological Survey. Curran initially synthesized the nanocomposites to examine their potential in the photonics world. He holds a U.S. and international series of patents for that work.
The researchers noted that using bacteria to create the nanocrystals suggests an environmentally friendly route of synthesis, while generating impressive results. “Nonlinear optical measurements of this material reveal the strong saturable absorption and nonlinear optical extinctions induced by Mie scattering overbroad temporal and wavelength ranges,” they wrote. “In both cases, Te [tellurium] particles exhibit superior optical nonlinearity compared to graphene.”
Light at very high intensity, such as that emitted by a laser, can have unpredictable polarizing effects on certain materials, Curran said, and physicists have been searching for suitable nonlinear materials that can withstand the effects. One goal, he said, is a material that can effectively reduce the light intensity, allowing for a device to be developed that could prevent damage by that light.
The researchers used the nanocomposite, made up of biologically generated elemental tellurium nanocrystals and a polymer to build an electro-optic switch – an electrical device used to modulate beams of light – that is immune to damage from a laser, he said.
Oremland noted that the current work grew out of 30 years of basic research, stemming from their initial discovery of selenite-respiring bacteria and the fact that the bacteria form discrete packets of elemental selenium. “From there, it was a step down the Periodic Table to learn that the same could be done with tellurium oxyanions,” he said. “The fact that tellurium had potential application in the realm of nanophotonics came as a serendipitous surprise.”
Blau said the biologically generated tellurium nanorods are especially suitable for photonic device applications in the mid-infrared range. “This wavelength region is becoming a hot technological topic as it is useful for biomedical, environmental and security-related sensing, as well as laser processing and for opening up new windows for fiber optical and free-space communications.”
Work will continue to expand the material’s potential for use in all-optical telecom switches, which Curran said is critical in expanding broadband capacity. “We need a massive investment in optical fiber,” he said. “We need greater bandwidth and switching speeds. We need all-optical switches to do that.”
Learn more: Using Nature to Produce a Revolutionary Optical Material
The Latest on: Optical limiting
[google_news title=”” keyword=”optical limiting” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Optical limiting
- Physicists arrange atoms in close proximity, paving way for exploring exotic states of matteron May 2, 2024 at 12:41 pm
Proximity is key for many quantum phenomena, as interactions between atoms are stronger when the particles are close. In many quantum simulators, scientists arrange atoms as close together as possible ...
- Fluidic telescope (FLUTE): Enabling the next generation of large space observatorieson May 2, 2024 at 10:16 am
The future of space-based UV/optical/IR astronomy requires ever larger telescopes. The highest priority astrophysics targets, including Earth-like exoplanets, first generation stars, and early ...
- FanDuel Casino Promo Code: $1000 Play It Again + Deposit $10, Get $20 | May 2024on May 2, 2024 at 8:52 am
Register with FanDuel Casino today to unlock a loaded two-part welcome offer consisting of a $20 casino bonus and up to a $1,000 Play It Again offer!
- Optical Illusion: Only an intelligent person can spot the fault in this pictureon May 2, 2024 at 8:30 am
We have one of the best optical illusions now, and it will take a keen observer with a high IQ to pull this one off. A few books are arranged on the table in the image that is provided below. You can ...
- Simplyhealth partners with EyeMed to offer discounted optical serviceson May 2, 2024 at 7:54 am
Simplyhealth has partnered with EyeMed to offer a new discounted eyecare service, adding to its quality-assured healthcare services. The service ...
- Highly precise atomic clocks could soon get even better. Here's howon April 29, 2024 at 3:00 am
"State-of-the-art atomic clocks are now so precise they are sensitive to gravity," Bohr said. "There are proposals that if we have atomic clocks that are portable and precise enough, we can place them ...
- Optical barcodes expand range of high-resolution sensoron April 26, 2024 at 11:27 am
The same geometric quirk that lets visitors murmur messages around the circular dome of the whispering gallery at St. Paul's Cathedral in London or across St. Louis Union Station's whispering arch ...
- How US changes to ‘noncompete’ agreements and overtime pay could affect workerson April 25, 2024 at 3:05 am
For millions of American workers, the federal government took two actions this week that could bestow potentially far-reaching benefits.
- How U.S. moves to drastically limit ‘noncompete’ agreements and expand overtime pay will affect workerson April 25, 2024 at 2:06 am
The new rules don’t take effect immediately. And they won't benefit everyone. So what exactly would these rules mean for America's workers?
- Going all opticalon April 22, 2024 at 7:40 am
That optical switch is Google’s Mission Apollo, exclusively first profiled in May by DCD. Noam Mizrahi, CTO at chip company Marvell, sees Apollo as the first part of a much larger story: The move to a ...
via Bing News