'Invisibility Cloak' Hides Irregularly Shaped Microscopic Objects
'Invisibility Cloak' Hides Irregularly Shaped Microscopic Objects
Fri, 09/18/2015 - 4:57pm by Megan Crouse, Real-Time Digital Reporter,
This microscopic ‘invisibility cloak’ cloaks objects from visible light.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) used a layer of gold nanoantennas to shroud a lumpy, microscopic three-dimensional object. Its surface reroutes reflected light waves, essentially causing light to bounce off when the cloak is activated by switching the polarization of the nanoantennas.
Other high-tech materials have been used to make invisibility cloaks that work by making objects appear flat or scattering light.
The Berkeley study examined how red light struck an irregularly shaped object wrapped in the cloak. The object, approximately 1,300 square microns in area, reflected light in the same way as a flat mirror, rendering it invisible even to phase-sensitive detection. The cloak itself is only 80 nanometers in thickness.
“This is the first time a 3D object of arbitrary shape has been cloaked from visible light,” said Xiang Zhang, director of Berkeley Lab’s Materials Sciences. “Our ultra-thin cloak now looks like a coat. It is easy to design and implement, and is potentially scalable for hiding macroscopic objects.”
More:
http://www.pddnet.com/news/2015/09/invisibility-cloak-hides-irregularly-shaped-microscopic-objects
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