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Thursday, May 14, 2009

"NANOTECH: Getting the 'blink' out: Steady nanoparticle emitters emerge"


For most illumination applications you need a steady reliable emitter, since interruptions can distract people and spoil processes. Unfortunately, steady-state emitters at the nanoscale have been hard to come by, but this innovation in materials could be the cure. Nano-sized steady-state emitters could be on their way from Kodak and others in just a few years. R.C.J.
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Nanoparticles offer advantages over traditional semiconductor LEDs and lasers in terms of size, ability to change color by merely changing their size and lower fabrication costs. But those advantages were offset by a tendency toward random blinking. Now, researchers claim to have demonstrated always-on nanoparticle emitters in a collaborative effort among the University of Rochester, Cornell University, Eastman Kodak Co. and the Naval Research Laboratory. By fabricating a new type of nanoparticle with a smooth gradient between two different materials, the researchers said the nanoparticles emit steadily like traditional LEDs and lasers.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217500124