There’s just so much granularity of detail you can get from an image taken from a satellite floating hundreds of miles over the surface of the earth… at least with existing satellite imaging technology. That might be posed to change, though: a breakthrough from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is set to revolutionize infrared satellite tech, and could creep out soon to consumer gadgets like night-vision goggles.
To improve the infrared of satellites, RPI’s researchers have created a “microlens” that uses nanoscale gold to reflect light into tiny holes on the sensor, each about 1.6 millionth of a meter in diameter, and one millionth of a meter deep. These holes, in turn, are filled with quantum dots: nanoscale crystals with unique optical and semiconductor properties.
The end result? The new devices ends up creating an electric field up to 400% stronger than the raw energy that enters it. Or, in layman’s terms, the RPI researchers have increased detectivity in quantum dot based IR detector by a factor of twenty, enhancing the signal without increasing the noise.
What this means is much better infrared satellites, but could potentially lead to vastly improved night-vision goggles and medical imaging as well. Terribly neat science at work!