A new metasurface could allow everyone to see at night. Applied in the form of a film on a pair of prescription glasses, this discovery could replace current night vision equipment with a lightweight and inexpensive alternative.
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Heavy and bulky night vision goggles may soon be replaced by simple goggles. Researchers at the Australian National University have developed a metasurface containing nanocrystals a hundred times finer than a hair that converts light infrared to the spectre visible. They detailed their invention in the magazine Advanced Photonics.
The researchers created a film containing microscopic crystals of arsenide from gallium with a thickness of a few hundred nanometers. Its operation is entirely optical, unlike the majority of current equipment which converts infrared light in electrical signal, displayed on a screen. This new solution does not block normal vision since the film acts as a filter which lets the light visible, and can be applied to ordinary prescription glasses.
A thin film on glasses to assist night driving
To work, this metasurface does not require any power. Instead, it relies on a laser tiny that nanocrystals combine with infrared light to create visible images.
For now, it is a prototype but the researchers say its large-scale production should be simple and inexpensive. This system could be adopted by the police and the military who often complain of neck pain because of the weight of the current equipment. It could also integrate daily life, for example for pedestrians or night driving.
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