Lighting the way nm by nm

Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Berkeley laboratory have created a nano-sized light source capable of emitting light across the visible spectrum.

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists, in conjunction with those from the University of California at Berkeley, said that the nano-sized light source could be developed to be used in single cell endoscopy and other forms of subwavelength bio-imaging, integrated circuitry for nanophotonic technology, and cyber cryptography.

‘This nanowire light source is like having a tiny flashlight that we can potentially scan across a living cell, visualising the cell while mechanically interacting with it,’ said Jan Liphardt, a biophysicist working on the project who holds a joint appointment with Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division and the university’s physics department.

Chemist Peidong Yang, one of the principal investigators on the project who also holds a joint appointment with the Berkeley Lab and the university’s chemistry department, described how the technology would be applied.