Metal in nanoscale opens new options

Staff -- Purchasing, 2/16/2006

Research into the way gold shines when it is reduced to nanoscale may lead to new optical chips for computers or switches and routers in fiber networks. Nanoscale is one-billionth of a meter, or about 70,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. These materials are so small they exhibit entirely different properties from conventional materials, according to scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. According to a UPI report, scientists examined the emission of light when electrons are stimulated in gold nanorods and found that they could control the wavelength of the light emitted by the material, making it possible to use as a light source inside an optical chip. "The light emitted is dependent on the shape of the gold nanorods," reports team leader Gary Wiederrecht in the December, 2005 issue of Physical Review Letters. The gold nanorods are about 20 nanometers wide and range from 70 to 300 nanometers long. The rod shape determines the energy of the collective electronic excitations that radiate light. The researchers say the longer-term implications of the work include the ability to produce nanoscale light sources for faster and smaller optical devices and novel photo luminescent sensors.