Israeli researchers have developed a new contactless method to study how mirror-image materials respond differently to light.
The recent study, published in the journal Small, examined chiral two-dimensional materials that exist in two mirror-image forms.
The researchers used circularly polarized light to measure how electrical charges separate inside the materials without attaching metal contacts or building a complete electronic device.
The two forms responded differently depending on the direction in which the light rotated.
One responded more strongly to right-circularly polarized light and the other to left-circularly polarized light.
A mixture containing both forms showed no significant difference between the two types of light.
The findings suggest that the materials’ unusual structure can act like a microscopic filter for electrons, affecting how they move and separate.
The researchers said the approach could help advance light detectors, spin-based electronics and other devices using polarized light, electrical charge and electron spin.