Seeing the invisible: ultra-efficient infrared imaging with smart silicon metasurfaces
Researchers from Nanchang University have developed a smart silicon metasurface that efficiently converts infrared light into visible light, achieving a record-high conversion efficiency and enabling high-resolution infrared imaging at room temperature. The metasurface uses a quasi-bound state in the continuum resonance to enhance silicon's nonlinearity, paving the way for compact, low-cost infrared imaging systems.
Researchers from Nanchang University have created a breakthrough solution: a smart, ultra-thin silicon chip called a metasurface. This chip is engineered with a precise array of nano-sized silicon disks, triggering a powerful optical resonance that amplifies incoming infrared light. The result is an exceptionally efficient conversion of infrared light into visible green light. The team achieves a record-high conversion efficiency and demonstrates practical imaging, producing a clear, high-resolution visible picture. The metasurface acts as a parallel array of pixel-level converters, faithfully translating any arbitrary infrared image into a corresponding visible image. The team demonstrates this with high fidelity, imaging test patterns and custom targets with a resolution of ~6 μm using a single pump laser at room temperature.
This content was automatically generated and/or translated by AI. It may contain inaccuracies. Please refer to the original sources for verification.