JNCASR researchers discover 'new material' that can convert infrared light into renewable energy

Team of JNCASR scientists who were part of the research (Image: PIB)

Researchers at Bengaluru’s Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) have discovered a new material called "single-crystalline scandium nitride (ScN)" that can convert infrared light into renewable energy, the government said on July 5.

ScN can emit, detect, and modulate infrared light with high efficiency making it useful for "solar and thermal energy harvesting and for optical communication devices", the Union Ministry of Science and Technology said in a press release.

The panel of researchers utilised a scientific phenomenon called polariton excitations that occur in tailored materials when light couples with either the collective free electron oscillations or polar lattice vibrations to achieve this feat.

"They have carefully controlled material properties to excite polaritons (a quasi-particle) and achieve strong light-matter interactions in single-crystalline scandium nitride (ScN) using infrared light," the release added.

The ministry explained that these exotic polaritons in the ScN can be utilised for solar and thermal energy harvesting.

Additionally, belonging to the same family of materials as gallium nitride (GaN), scandium nitride is compatible with modern complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) or Si-chip technology and, "therefore, could be easily integrated for on-chip optical communication devices", it further noted.

“From electronics-to-healthcare, defense and security-to-energy technologies, there is a great demand for infrared sources, emitters, and sensors. Our work on infrared polaritons in scandium nitride will enable its applications in many such devices,” said Dr Bivas Saha, Assistant Professor at JNCASR, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology.