New Nano Structure Is The Thinnest Light-Absorber Ever
Thinnest Light Absorbers Consisting of billions of gold nanodots, these four squares are the thinnest light absorbers ever built. Courtesy of Mark Shwartz Nanosize light-absorbers break records for size and efficiency and could lead to better solar cells. Scientists at Stanford University have managed to build light-absorbers that are thousands of times thinner than a sheet of paper. The nanosize structures are capable of absorbing close to 100 percent of visible light emanating from specific wavelengths. The material could be used to make cheaper, more efficient solar cells, among other things, the researchers say. "Much like a guitar string, which has a resonance frequency that changes when you tune it, metal particles have a resonance frequency that can be fine-tuned to absorb a particular wavelength of light," Carl Hagglund, lead author of the study said in a statement. "We tuned the optical properties of our system to maximize the light absorption." In...