“Incredible things can be done simply if we are committed to making them happen.”
Researchers from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research have made a phenomenal breakthrough by finding a new material that has the potency to turn infrared light into renewable energy. This novel material is termed single-crystalline scandium nitride or ScN.[1] We are quite familiar with the fact that infrared radiation is a region of the electromagnetic spectrum having a wavelength ranging from 700 nm to 1 mm. Since infrared radiations have a longer wavelength and lower frequency, they are considered quite less dangerous as compared to UV radiations, X rays, etc. Infrared radiation has characteristic heat-inducing property and therefore have practical applications in heat production.[2]
Intelligent and cutting-edge materials which are capable of excitation, modulation, and detection at an appropriate spectral range are imperative for infrared light applications. However, not many topical materials can act as hosts for the interaction between light and matter in the infrared spectral region and have lower efficiencies. [3] Therefore, it became important to discover material that possesses all the above-mentioned properties. The novel material, ScN, is able to detect, modulate and emit infrared light and has the vigor to be used in solar and thermal energy harvesting and optical communications devices. [1]
K. C. Maurya and his colleagues have employed a scientific phenomenon known as ‘polariton excitations’ that occur in tailored materials when the light couples with either the collective free electron oscillations or polar lattice vibrations. Researchers have cautiously regulated the properties of material so as to excite polaritons (a quasi-particle) and attain strong light-matter interactions in single-crystalline scandium nitride (ScN) using infrared light. [3]
The polaritons present in the ScN can be used for solar and thermal energy harvesting. Since the ScN belongs to the same family of materials as gallium nitride (GaN), it is compatible with modern complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) or Si-chip technology. This is why they could also be used and integrated for on-chip optical communication devices. [3]
Interested in reading about the fascinating advancements in material science? Have a look at our article: Move over, graphene: Scientists tame Boron equivalent
Author
