Nanophotonics is the science of light at the nanoscale. "In nanophotonics, we study the way light interacts with structures that are much smaller than the optical wavelength itself, which results in extreme confinement of light. In this work, we have combined this attribute with the power conversion characteristics of thermoelectrics to enable a new type of optoelectronic device," says Harry Atwater. Light detectors that distinguish between different colors of light or heat are used in a variety of applications, including satellites that study changing vegetation and landscape on the earth and medical imagers that distinguish between healthy and cancerous cells based on their color variations.

Professor Atwater's research and development in metallic nanostructures demonstrates how light can be more efficiently absorbed and trapped in solar cells by integrating nanostructures in the solar cell. This enables the fabrication of ultrathin solar cells that can be made at reduced costs, as well as new solar cell architectures with increased efficiency.

FURTHER READING

Nanostructures Detect Colors