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Night vision systems based on graphene have become closer to reality

18.11.2015

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thermal imaging technology often found in special devices that help the police, as well as search and rescue team and the military to monitor the bad guys, or the victims of the wall or in complete darkness. However, the best such devices require the use of cryogenic cooling systems, which makes them very difficult, expensive and very impractical. Using graphene – a semiconductor material is 100 times stronger than steel – Researchers at MIT have created a chip that can once and for all solve all these problems.

According to Thomas Palacios, one of the founders of the chip, it can be used to build quite compact sensors that can fit into any smart phone, tablet and laptop.
One of the useful properties of graphene is its sensitivity to infrared light, so a team of scientists has created on its base of a microscopic sensor chip and a small prototype device. This cooling of the chip does not require the use of special cooling systems. Instead, scientists have isolated from the rest of the chip device. To use additional insulation strips of graphene, leaving open only the part of the chip, which is in contact with the open air and it determines the incoming heat. Furthermore, these strips graphene are used to transfer electrical signals from the heat sensor to the rest of the device
In the experiment with a new chip in the dark compact sensor is able to determine the shape of the human hand. A key aim of the scientists is to improve the quality and image resolution to this technology can be used in everyday devices.

According to Palacios, such sensors might someday be integrated into the windshields of cars that will equip drivers’ night vision system in real time without the need to block the normal view of the road by using additional resources. “

In general, a list of useful properties of graphene and possible technologies based on it again replenished. It only remains to wait for the realization of all these great ideas into practice and to mass-produce.

Source: ctrlhelp.com

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