Contact lenses help people see in the dark?

Wearing a pair of lightweight infrared contact lenses to look in the night - hearing this is probably only in action spy movies. But now, with a recent study by scientists at the University of Michigan (USA), infrared contact lenses can completely become a reality.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have resorted to the optical capabilities of graphene materials to create infrared contact lenses. Last year, IBM demonstrated a number of graphene photocatalysts that help it detect infrared in a very efficient way.

Graphene can detect all infrared spectra, including visible light and ultraviolet rays. But besides this great advantage, graphene also has big disadvantages equally. Because graphene is only 1 molecule thick, it can only absorb 2.3% of the light reaching it. Only that is not enough to create an electrical signal, and without an electrical signal, graphene cannot act as an infrared sensor.

Contact lenses help see through the night?(Source: discovery.com)

Therefore, to overcome this weakness, scientists sandwiched between two layers of graphene an insulator. The bottom graphene has electricity flowing through it. When light shines on the upper layer, electrons are released and can create quantum tunneling effects through the insulating layer, thereby amplifying the electrical signals generated when light hits. From measuring the change of current in the lower layer, scientists can know exactly the amount of light shining on the graphene layer above.

This device is equivalent in sensitivity to infrared sensors that are cooled, but can operate under room temperature conditions. Scientists were able to build this sensor with the size of the tiny fingernail, or the size of standard contact lenses.

"If you combine this technology with contact lenses or other eye-wear devices, people's vision will be expanded. It allows us to interact with the environment with a completely new method , " Zhaohui Zhong, Associate Professor of the University of Michigan said.

Infrared rays have become quite familiar, with military applications, to help people be able to see in the dark. In addition, this technology can be used in medicine, for example, to help doctors control blood flow.

It is still a question of whether the ability to see in the dark becomes attractive in the future. Anyway, this basic operational principle opened up the potential for developing this technology on a range of new materials and equipment. Can an infrared version of Google Glass be released in the future?