Metamaterial Forms Near-Perfect Mirror

New submitter JMarshall writes: Researchers have made near-perfect reflectors out of a silicon metamaterial. These reflectors could offer a simpler, less expensive way to make high-performance mirrors for lasers or telescopes. Metamaterials typically use nanoscale patterning to create unusual properties not present in the bulk material. In this new method, researchers used off-the-shelf, nanosized polystyrene beads and allowed them to self-assemble into a monolayer with a hexagonal pattern. Using the monolayer as a photolithographic mask, the researchers etched an array of silicon cylinders, each a few hundred nanometers across, onto a wafer. The cylinders act like tiny resonators for a particular light frequency—analogous to the way a given sound frequency will make a tuning fork hum. The array reflected 99.7 % of incident light at their peak wavelength. These simple metamaterial mirrors might one day replace current high-performance reflectors, which are somewhat costly to make.

Comments

Hmmm ...

[gstoddart]

So, it's a nearly perfect mirror for a specific wavelength?

So, more useful for lasers than say, optics?

That's some crazy stuff.

No fucking URL shorteners ...

[Anonymous Coward]

This isn't twitter, don't fucking post shit behind URL shorteners.

There's no fucking reason for that.

Re:No fucking URL shorteners ...

[Anonymous Coward]

Because a Uniform Resource Identifier is just that, an identifier. It is meant to be human-readable and give me a hint about where it will lead me before I click on it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not offended by an image of a guy distending his sphincter, but right now I'm more curious about perfect mirrors than about this particular black hole.

Re:Solar Cell efficiency

[ArcadeMan]

I thought so at first, but it seems unlikely:

The cylinders act like tiny resonators for a particular light frequency.