Invisibility cloak makes objects seen in infrared invisible

July 26, 2010



A glass cloak designed to hide a metal cylinder. The upper inset shows the distances between resonator arrays. The lower one highlights the cylindrical spokes made of glass resonators and fused silica spacers.

Scientists at Michigan Technological University and Pennsylvania State University have developed a nonmetallic cloak that uses identical glass resonators made of chalcogenide glass. In computer simulations, the cloak made objects hit by infrared waves—approximately one micron—disappear from view.

The invisibility cloak metamaterials are made of tiny glass resonators arranged in a concentric pattern in the shape of a cylinder. The “spokes” of the concentric configuration produce the magnetic resonance required to bend light waves around an object, making it invisible.

Earlier attempts by other researchers used metal rings and wires.

More info: Michigan Technological University news