APPLICATIONS OF NEGATIVE LUMINESCENCE

The application of non-equilibrium transport techniques to narrow-gap semiconductor materials has produced practical, negative luminescent d evices. These structures contravene Kirchhoff's law because they will absorb infrared radiation in a limited band without emitting it. They have many potentially important applications which include toxic gas s ensing, cold shields for IR detectors, radiometric reference sources a nd dynamic infrared scene projectors. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier S cience B.V.