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System Pushes Better Light Control

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 27, 2014 — More precise control of light could be on the horizon, prompting advances in solar photovoltaics, detectors for telescopes and microscopes, and privacy filters for display screens.

Researchers from MIT have developed the first system that allows light of any wavelength to pass through from a specific direction and that reflects all light coming from other angles.

“It is a very fundamental building block in our ability to control light,” said researcher Marin Soljacic, a professor of physics at MIT.


In this angular-selective sample, a beam of white light passes as if through transparent glass. The red beam comes at a different angle and is reflected away, like a mirror. Courtesy of MIT.


Alternating a stack of about 80 ultrathin layers of two alternating materials, the investigators found that the thickness of each layer could be precisely controlled. The interface between the two materials typically causes reflections. However, at the Brewster angle, which provides appropriate polarization, there is no reflection at all.

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Researcher Yichen Shen, a graduate student at MIT, said, “We are able to reflect light at most of the angles, over a very broad band [of colors] — the entire visible range of frequencies.”

The angular selectivity could be made narrower by adding more layers to the stack. Experiments conducted so far have seen the angle of selectivity at about 10°; about 90 percent of the light coming within that angle was allowed to pass through.

The study was performed with layers of glass and tantalum oxide, but the researchers say that any two materials with different refractive indices could be used.

Optical systems, such as microscopes and telescopes, could benefit from the researchers’ findings, allowing for better viewing of faint objects that are close to brighter ones. The filtering also could be applied to display screens on phones or computers, allowing only those viewing from directly in front to see them.

Shen said, “This could have great applications in energy, and especially in solar thermophotovoltaics.” 

The work was funded by the Army Research Office, MIT's Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, the US Department of Energy and the MIT S3TEC Energy Research Frontier Center. The research is published in Science (doi: 10.1126/science.1249799).

For more information, visit: www.mit.edu

Published: March 2014
Glossary
color
The attribute of visual experience that can be described as having quantitatively specifiable dimensions of hue, saturation, and brightness or lightness. The visual experience, not including aspects of extent (e.g., size, shape, texture, etc.) and duration (e.g., movement, flicker, etc.).
glass
A noncrystalline, inorganic mixture of various metallic oxides fused by heating with glassifiers such as silica, or boric or phosphoric oxides. Common window or bottle glass is a mixture of soda, lime and sand, melted and cast, rolled or blown to shape. Most glasses are transparent in the visible spectrum and up to about 2.5 µm in the infrared, but some are opaque such as natural obsidian; these are, nevertheless, useful as mirror blanks. Traces of some elements such as cobalt, copper and...
light
Electromagnetic radiation detectable by the eye, ranging in wavelength from about 400 to 750 nm. In photonic applications light can be considered to cover the nonvisible portion of the spectrum which includes the ultraviolet and the infrared.
polarization
Polarization refers to the orientation of oscillations in a transverse wave, such as light waves, radio waves, or other electromagnetic waves. In simpler terms, it describes the direction in which the electric field vector of a wave vibrates. Understanding polarization is important in various fields, including optics, telecommunications, and physics. Key points about polarization: Transverse waves: Polarization is a concept associated with transverse waves, where the oscillations occur...
reflection
Return of radiation by a surface, without change in wavelength. The reflection may be specular, from a smooth surface; diffuse, from a rough surface or from within the specimen; or mixed, a combination of the two.
wavelength
Electromagnetic energy is transmitted in the form of a sinusoidal wave. The wavelength is the physical distance covered by one cycle of this wave; it is inversely proportional to frequency.
AmericasanglesArmy Research OfficeBiophotonicscolordetectorsDisplaysenergyFiltersfrequenciesglassImaginginterfaceslightLight SourcesMarin SoljacicMassachusettsMaterialsMicroscopymirrorsMITOpticspolarizationreflectionrefractiveResearch & TechnologySensors & Detectorssolar photovoltaicstantalum oxidetelescopesUS Department of EnergywavelengthBrewster anglesolar thermophotovoltaicsYichen ShenS3TEC Energy Research Frontier Center

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