Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) discovered a new method to passivate defects in next generation optical materials to improve optical quality and enable the miniaturization of light emitting diodes and other optical elements. “From a chemistry standpoint, we have discovered a new photocatalytic reaction using laser light and water molecules, which is […]
NRL, AFRL Develop Direct-Write Quantum Calligraphy in Monolayer Semiconductors
Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) have developed a way to directly write quantum light sources, which emit a single photon of light at a time, into monolayer semiconductors such as tungsten diselenide (WSe2). Single photon emitters (SPEs), or quantum emitters, are key components in a […]
NRL Demonstrates New Non-Mechanical Laser Steering Technology
Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory have recently demonstrated a new nonmechanical chip-based beam steering technology that offers an alternative to costly, cumbersome and often unreliable and inefficient mechanical gimbal-style laser scanners. The chip, known as a steerable electro-evanescent optical refractor, or SEEOR, takes laser light in the mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) as an input […]
Materials Research Team Lights The Way For More Efficient LEDs
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Center for Computational Materials Science, working with an international team of physicists, have revealed that nanocrystals made of cesium lead halide perovskites (CsPbX3), is the first discovered material which the ground exciton state is “bright,” making it an attractive candidate for more efficient solid-state lasers and light […]
NRL Improves Optical Efficiency In Nanophotonic Devices
A team of physicists, headed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), have demonstrated the means to improve the optical loss characteristics and transmission efficiency of hexagonal boron nitride devices, enabling very small lasers and nanoscale optics. “The applications for this research are considerably broad,” said Dr. Alexander J. Giles, research physicist, NRL Electronics Science […]
NRL Clarifies Valley Polarization For Electronic And Optoelectronic Technologies
An interdisciplinary team of scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has uncovered a direct link between sample quality and the degree of valley polarization in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). In contrast with graphene, many monolayer TMDs are semiconductors and show promise for future applications in electronic and optoelectronic technologies. In this sense, […]
NRL Receives US Patent for Carbon Capture Device
The world’s oceans cover approximately 70 percent of Earth’s surface and contain roughly 93 percent of the planet’s carbon dioxide (CO2). With around 38,000 gigatons (Gt) of carbon, our world’s oceans contain 16 times as much carbon as that found on land or in the atmosphere combined. “With greater attention being directed at mitigating the […]
NRL Tests Autonomous ‘Soaring with Solar’ Concept
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Vehicle Research Section and Photovoltaic Section are building on the proven concept of autonomous cooperative soaring of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Their research investigates the presence of solar photovoltaics (PV) to the cooperative autonomous soaring techniques, which enables long endurance flights of unmanned sailplanes that use the […]
NRL Breakthrough Enables Safer Alternative To Lithium-Ion Batteries
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Chemistry Division have developed a safer alternative to fire-prone lithium-ion batteries, which were recently banned for some applications on Navy ships and other military platforms. Joseph Parker, Jeffrey Long, and Debra Rolison from NRL’s Advanced Electrochemical Materials group are leading an effort to create an entire family […]
New Method Developed to Synthesize Nanoparticles
Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Materials Science and Technology Division have developed a novel one-step process using, for the first time in these types of syntheses, potassium superoxide (KO2) to rapidly form oxide nanoparticles from simple salt solutions in water. “Typically, the synthesis of oxide nanoparticles involves the slow reaction of a […]