Thin night vision lenses that enable glasses with night vision capabilities are developed
Researchers at the Australian National University have announced that they have developed an infrared filter that is thinner than plastic wrap, which can convert infrared light into visible light, making it possible to see your surroundings even in dark places.
Enhanced Infrared Vision by Nonlinear Up‐Conversion in Nonlocal Metasurfaces - Valencia Molina - Advanced Materials - Wiley Online Library
New all-optical approach to revolutionise night vision technology | ANU College of Science
https://science.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/new-all-optical-approach-revolutionise-night-vision-technology
New all-optical approach to revolutionize night vision technology | TMOS
https://www.tmos.org.au/research/new-all-optical-approach-to-revolutionise-night-vision-technology/
Night vision devices are used by the military, hunters, photographers, etc., and work by amplifying weak visible and infrared light. However, high-quality night vision devices are very expensive, and they have problems such as the need for cooling systems to prevent the circuit board from overheating and the need for batteries, which are heavy and bulky.
Now, researchers at TMOS (ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovative Meta-Optical Systems) at the Australian National University report that they have developed a metasurface that consists of a lattice structure of silica (SiO 2 ) overlaid on lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ).
This metasurface using lithium niobate can convert infrared light with a wavelength of 1,550 nm into visible light with a wavelength of 550 nm through a nonlinear optical process called sum frequency generation (SFG).
The developed metasurface is thinner than plastic wrap and is almost completely transparent in the visible light range. It also overcomes the 'nonlocality' that causes information loss depending on the angle of incidence of light, making high-resolution imaging possible. In addition, since it does not require a cooling device, it has the potential to significantly reduce the size and cost of night vision devices.
The research team also emphasized that while conventional technology cannot simultaneously display infrared and visible light images, this metasurface can display two images simultaneously, making it superior to conventional night vision devices. In addition to night vision devices, the metasurface is expected to have a wide range of applications in everyday life, such as improving the safety of night driving, improving the safety of walking at night, and improving the efficiency of work in dark places.
'Night vision technology aims to reduce size, weight and power requirements, and this is an example of how important this is for the miniaturization of future technologies,' said Dragomir Neshev, principal investigator of the project.
Going forward, the research team aims to expand the range of detectable wavelengths and add image processing functions such as edge detection.
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