SBIR Phase I: Quantum Dot / Fluoropolymer Composites: A New Approach for Enhancing Performance in Light Sources

这一小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段研究项目引入了一种新的技术方法，利用公司的光学聚合物技术作为新的商业矩阵平台，最大限度地提高放大器、波导和光开关中量子点(QD)器件的性能。该项目将进一步研究将量子点与该公司的光学聚合物结合起来制造近红外光学增益和放大器件的技术可行性。如果聚合物基质中的量子点浓度加倍，分散更均匀，这些结果将具有更大的商业化潜力。拟议的新方法将专注于合成独特的氟化可聚合配体作为量子点包封剂，其结构设计将提供最高的量子点表面亲和力，使量子点在最终器件中具有最大的浓度和更好的分散性。这些新的复合材料可以通过典型的溶液、熔融或光刻技术进行加工，以生产所需的商业光学器件。如果成功，这项新的研究将提高学术界和工业界在技术领域的科学和技术知识，如量子点技术、表面亲和力、低成本、更高数据速率的集成光学器件，以及由于其结构的多样性而产生的聚合物化学学科。量子点技术是过去10年里出现的一个非常令人兴奋的全球研究新领域。然而，量子点技术在生物传感以外的应用中的应用，如商业发光设备，仍处于非常早期的开发阶段。量子点在光学器件领域的卓越性能在全球范围内的商业化受到了矩阵选择、处理问题、点的集中和分散的限制。该项目解决了这些技术和商业化问题，使这项技术的卓越带宽潜力能够更广泛地应用于这个价值23亿美元的全球市场。在南卡罗来纳州，成功的商业化将有助于创造10-12个就业机会，帮助取代纺织业失去的那些工作岗位。这些工作包括博士水平，使当地大学受益，以及为当地技术学院毕业生提供高薪技术员职位。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project introduces a new technical approach to utilizing company's optical polymer technology as a new commercial matrix platform for maximizing the performance capability of quantum dot (QD) devices in amplifiers, waveguides, and optical switches. This project will further investigate the technical feasibility of combining quantum dots with the company's optical polymer to make near infrared optical gain and amplifier devices. These results will have much greater commercialization potential if the concentration of quantum dots incorporated into the polymer matrix is doubled with more uniformly dispersion. The proposed new approach will focus on synthesis of unique fluorinated polymerizable ligands as the quantum dot encapsulants, which will be structurally designed to provide the highest quantum dot surface affinity to enable the maximum quantum dot concentration in the final device with better dispersion. These new composites can then be processed by typical solution, melt, or lithographic techniques to produce the commercial optical devices desired.If successful this new research will enhance scientific and technical knowledge in both academia and industry in technical fields such as quantum dot technology, surface affinity, lower cost higher data rate integrated optic devices, and the discipline of polymer chemistry due to its structural versatility. Quantum dot technology is a very exciting new area of global research to emerge over the past 10 years. However, the use of QD technology in applications other than biological sensing, such as commercial light emitting devices is still in very early stage development. The global commercialization of the superior capabilities of quantum dots in the optical device area has been limited by matrix selection, processing concerns, concentration, and dispersion of the dots. This project addresses these technical and commercialization concerns to allow the superior bandwidth potential of this technology to be more broadly applied into this $2.3 billion dollar global market. In South Carolina, successful commercialization will help create 10 -12 jobs to help replace those lost in the textile industry. These jobs include the PhD level, benefiting local universities, and high paying technician positions for graduates from local technical institutes.