Researchers at N.C. State recently developed a breakthrough in smart sensor technology by combining vanadium dioxide with an advanced computer chip. The discovery allows the material to have a wide range of applications, some geared toward military use.

Jay Narayan, a professor in material science and a senior author of the paper about the smart sensors, said the researchers’ work will improve upon existing technology.

“The military is already talking to us,” Narayan said. “They have a device that doesn’t work as well, and I think with this device they will have considerable improvement.”

According to Narayan, the smart sensor will help the military develop better infrared sensors because the current models are too bulky. 

“A soldier has to carry a computer with a sensor that is hardwired by a physical wire,” Narayan said. “Our discovery has put all of this in one chip, so the computer and the sensor are together. Sensing, manipulation and responding are all on a single chip.”

In addition to being used as an infrared sensor, the material can also create something called a smart window. When heated, the material becomes highly reflective and blocks incoming sunlight.

“You can set the temperature above which you don’t want the sunlight to come in and, through the optical transmission, it goes from transparent to highly reflective,” Narayan said.

The smart window technology can be applied for everyday use, not just military use, and can perhaps eliminate the need for window blinds.

“A big problem here at Centennial Campus is that when we get a lot of sunlight, it heats up the room,” Narayan said. “If you had a smart window, you could set it to 70 degrees, and then the sunlight would be reflected back.”

According to Narayan, the smart window doesn’t block the view of the outside and can be compared to being in the shade when the smart window is active.

The multifunctional material can be used for even more applications. It can sense nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, ammonia and several other gasses and can be used as an effective gas sensor. The gas sensor could potentially be used by homeowners, by businesses, the military and other industries. 

Though the military is currently only interested in the infrared sensor application of the multifunctional spintronic smart sensors, the official name of the sensors may change in the future to include the other functions the smart sensors can perform.

The sensor can also function as a magnetic sensor due to the multifunctional nature of the material, according to Narayan.

“We have made the magnetic sensor out of this,” Narayan said. “By using a laser beam and shining it on the material, we can make the material magnetic. It can act as both a magnetic and an infrared sensor.”

With all the things the multifunctional spintronic smart sensors can do, the material used to make them is cheap. Though there is no official cost yet for the final product, Narayan was optimistic regarding the costs.

“The material is not expensive,” Narayan said. “We can easily fabricate it, so this won’t be expensive. It’s not one of those elements that are running out.”