Tag: APL Photonics

Nanoparticles Self-Assemble to Harvest Solar Energy

sarah JonasResearch Results

In APL Photonics, researchers design a solar harvester with enhanced energy conversion capabilities. The device employs a quasiperiodic nanoscale pattern, meaning most of it is an alternating and consistent pattern, while the remaining portion contains random defects that do not affect its performance. The fabrication process makes use of self-assembling nanoparticles, which form an organized material structure based on their interactions with nearby particles without any external instructions. Thermal energy harvested by the device can be transformed to electricity using thermoelectric materials.

Detecting, Exploiting Non-Line-of-Sight Paths for Terahertz Signals in Wireless Communications

sarah JonasResearch Results

After developing a link discovery method in 2020 using terahertz radiation, Rice and Brown researchers addressed what would happen if a wall or other reflector creates a non-line-of-sight path from the base station to the receiver. In APL Photonics, they consider two different generic types of transmitters and explore how their characteristics can be used to determine whether an NLOS path contributes to the signal received by the receiver.

Using Holographic Endoscopes to Observe Distant Objects

sarah JonasResearch Results

Scientists are developing tools to observe the biological machinery in in vivo animal models to be able to understand and better treat severe brain diseases, and holographic endoscopes attracted interest because of their potential to conduct minimally invasive observations. In APL Photonics, researchers in Germany created a particularly narrow endoscope made of single hair-thin optical fibers that uses holographic methods to reconstruct images of macroscopic objects placed in front of the far end of the endoscope.