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Monday, 16th March 2009 (1410 views)

Scientists have used gold and nanotechnology to create a metamaterial that could be used in the production of highly-efficient solar cells, it has emerged.

Researchers at Rice University have developed a material consisting of particles known as nanocups that collects light and then emits it in a single direction.

The work, which has been published in the February issue of the Nano Letters journal, has been carried out by Naomi Halas and Nikolay Mirin.

Previous research by Mr Mirin had seen him attempt to create a thin film of gold with nano-sized holes, a study that prompted him to further investigate the use of isolated nanocups.

"The big breakthrough here was being able to lift the nanocups off of a structure and preserve their orientation," Ms Halas explained, adding that that the metamaterial could also be used to transmit signals between computer chips.

Last week scientists at Brown University used gold nanoparticles to make a possible breakthrough in the area of breast cancer treatment, Nanowerk News reports.

 

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