Suzhou Nano Institute realizes the high-efficiency application of silica aerogel in the field of laser lighting

Solid-state lighting (light-emitting diode LED, laser diode LD) has the advantages of high efficiency and long service life, and is expected to replace traditional lighting

The team of Zhang Xuetong, a researcher at the Suzhou Institute of Nanotechnology and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has precisely adjusted the size of the silica aerogel construction unit to control the selective interaction between light and construction units of different sizes, together with the deliberately made deep holes along the direction of the incident light.

According to the Rayleigh-Gaussian theory, the intensity of scattered light is proportional to the cube of the diameter of the silica aerogel building unit

The researchers precisely controlled the size of the building blocks of silica aerogels by adjusting the concentration of surfactants during the preparation of silica aerogels

The absorption rate of silica aerogel is less than 1%, and the laser damage threshold is as high as 10.

The researchers verified the actual use effect of silica aerogels with different construction unit sizes for laser illumination, and quantitatively measured the illuminance distribution

Fine-tuned silica aerogel can be used for laser scattering of different wavelengths

Related work was published on "Advanced Materials"

The interaction between laser and silica aerogels with different construction unit sizes

Structure and performance of silica aerogel

Specific application of laser-driven illumination using silica aerogel as diffuse scatterer