Near-Infrared Ceramic Disc

These four ceramic blocks - labelled one through four – have been combined with four different concentrations of an emitter substance (zinc oxide, gallium oxide, germanium oxide and chromium oxide), which – when activated by light – will emit light for up to 360 hours. At first glance you can see that each disk is different in colour, ranging from pale pink to light brown. And, while the disc colours and emitter concentration are different, you’ll find that they have almost the same afterglow performance. While sunlight and solar radiation (in any weather conditions) is the most effective way of activating this afterglow affect, the NIR material can also be activated by UV light and room light (it will take up to ten minutes with room light). Importantly, the afterglow can only be seen using a night vision device. The NIR material was created by US-based research team at the University of Georgia, led by Zhengwei Pan, and has the potential for use in many different applications: as a tool for the army to offer secret night-time illumination, in solar energy, and in vivo bio-imaging and even as a tool for diagnostic medicine.