Researchers from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia have modeled a type of laser called a spaser that can create smartphones flexible enough to be printed on t-shirts.
Unlike traditional lasers, which shoot more space-consuming beams, spasers, which stands for "surface plasmon amplification by stimulated emission of radiation" are nanoscale lasers that discharge a beam of light through the vibration of free electrons, according to redOrbit.
The new spaser was also modeled to be made out of carbon.
"Other spasers designed to date are made of gold or silver nanoparticles and semiconductor quantum dots while our device would be comprised of a graphene resonator and a carbon nanotube gain element," said Chanaka Rupasinghe, study author and engineering postgraduate student at Monash University.
Carbon would make the spaser stronger and more flexible, NDTV Gadgets reported. The technology could work at high temperatures and not cause harm to the environment.
"Because of these properties, an extremely thin mobile phone could be printed on clothing," Rupasinghe said.
Graphene and nanotubes were used to make the spaser. These materials are over a hundred times stronger than steel, can conduct electricity and heat better than copper and can resist high temperatures, NDTV Gadgets reported.
The research team also showed that carbon nanotubes and graphene can be used for computer processors and other purposes due to their ability to connect and transport energy between one another through light, a process that is quick and energy-efficient, redOrbit reported.
"Graphene and carbon nanotubes can be used in applications where you need strong, lightweight, conducting and thermally stable materials [because of] their outstanding mechanical, electrical and optical properties," Rupasinghe said. "They have been tested as nanoscale antennas, electric conductors and waveguides."
In the report, published in the journal ACS Nano, Rupasinghe also said that a spaser creates high-intensity electrical fields that are focused into a nanoscale space. Electrical fields are usually stronger than other fields made from lasers illuminating metal nanoparticles for uses such as cancer treatment.
"Scientists have already found ways to guide nanoparticles close to cancer cells," he said. "We can move graphene and carbon nanotubes following those techniques and use the high concentrate fields generated through the spasing phenomena to destroy individual cancer cells without harming the healthy cells in the body."
