Discovery Leads to Ultrasensitive Way to Measure Light

Physicists at the University of Oregon have developed a fast and sensitive bolometer that can measure light at and far above room temperature. A bolometer is a sensitive electrical instrument that measures the power of incident electromagnetic radiation. The new device, which consists of a trampoline-shaped piece of graphene suspended over a hole, offers an alternative to conventional electronic light detectors, such as those found in a smartphone's camera.