NaMasTe Lab scientists has solved a long-standing problem in thermal imaging, making it possible to capture clear images of objects through hot windows. Imaging applications in a range of fields ⎯ e.g. security, surveillance, industrial research and diagnostics ⎯ could benefit from the research findings, which were reported in the journal Communications Engineering. More detials…
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NaMasTe lab developed a device that converts heat to electricity efficiently without the need for any moving parts. An unconventional device, inspired by quantum physics, pushed this heat-to-electricity conversion (thermophotovoltaics) to its fundamental limits. This energy conversion scheme, at first, converts heat to light and then converts light to electricity. Our work focused on the…
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Hey, prospective grad student! We are hiring! If you are interested, please follow the procedure below: Prepare your application materials for either Rice ECE or Rice APP. Mention the Naik group in the application and your statement. Submit your application and let Prof. Naik know that you have applied. Please share your application number. After…
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The refractive index is an important design parameter of an optical material. The higher the refractive index, the better the material’s ability to confine light in it. High-index materials are essential to miniaturizing optical elements and enabling display and imaging technologies such as virtual reality (VR). The performance of nanoscale optical elements is best…
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Optical materials that can change the refractive index are needed for emerging applications like virtual reality, 3D displays, optical computers, and LiDAR. However large changes in refractive index and fast response are hard to find in common optical materials. We investigated a new class of material based on strong correlations and discovered their large change…
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Thermal light sources are necessary for many applications, especially in the infrared. Their design in the past has relied mainly on classical electromagnetics. We instead propose using quantum optics to describe and design thermal sources. Quantum description allows designing the thermal source as a many-resonator system, unlike the classical approach. Many-resonator system brings in new…
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Refractory nanophotonics, or nanophotonics at high temperatures, can revolutionize many applications, including novel infrared sources, ultrahigh density data storage, innovative chemical sensing techniques, and waste heat recovery. In particular, extremely anisotropic optical materials stable at high temperatures are very interesting and promising for revolutionary applications. However, the lack of such materials limits the scope of…
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We explore, invent, and innovate the science and technology of extreme control of light using nanotechnology. While discovering new scientific phenomena, the Naik Lab addresses global challenges by developing new technologies for efficient energy conversion and storage, imaging and display, and sensing. Please feel free to browse News, Research and publication pages for more details.
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