IR to full color
A colloidal quantum dot-based upconverter that converts multispectral infrared radiation into full-color visible emission with correlated wavelength/intensity-to-color/luminance mapping.
Chengchang, Fu · Xiaoxue, Yang · Hao, Qun · Tang, Xin · Mu, Ge
Science Advances 2026
Different infrared wavelengths generate different numbers of photocarriers in the quantum dots, which are strategically routed into distinct color emission channels in a dual-emissive-layer architecture, producing visible light with corresponding colors rather than grayscale.
By leveraging the human eye's superiority in chromatic differentiation over brightness contrast, subtle infrared variations are converted into color changes, achieving a discrimination sensitivity more than two orders of magnitude higher than conventional single-color modes.
The upconverter can be made into lightweight, semi-transparent eyeglasses that project multispectral infrared images directly onto the retina, eliminating the need for bulky conventional infrared imaging systems.
The device exhibits broadband infrared response extending beyond 2 μm, covering important near-infrared to short-wave infrared bands and expanding the range of detectable wavelengths.