STTR Phase I: Surface- and Structural Engineering of Colloidal Quantum Dots Towards Efficient and

这个小型企业技术转移研究第一阶段项目将开发基于掺杂胶体量子点（QDs）的微珠的高效双光子激光器，用于相干光学编码。目前的双光子激光材料一般是有机染料，具有光漂衰减快、效率低的特点。我们建议开发基于胶体量子点的双光子激光材料，这种材料是高效的，光化学稳定的，并且能够在生物样品内部进行有效的泵送。为了开发一种可行的双光子激光产品，提高激光稳定性，延长工作寿命，提高上转换效率，降低泵浦阈值，在一期项目中提出了以下目标：1)设计能够显著提高双光子吸收效率的工程纳米结构；2)研究所设计纳米结构的激光效率和稳定性；3)探索双光子激光在相干光编码中的应用。我们期望获得稳定，高效，低阈值的量子点激光材料和量子点掺杂微珠激光器，具有多种激光波长，可以在生物条形码传感和许多其他应用中发挥关键作用。在第二阶段，我们将与战略合作伙伴合作，在第一阶段结果的基础上开发相干光学条形码，目标是高精度和高通量的生物分子分析。该项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是生产稳定和高效的双光子激光材料和系统，可用于医疗和生物条形码以及片上纳米激光器，以推进生物医学传感、临床诊断、光学数据存储和电信技术。该项目的成功完成将为价值35亿美元的二极管激光器市场提供价格低廉、波长可调、耐用的激光系统。特别是，所提出的基于量子点的双光子激光材料可用于生物光学条形码，其关键应用是准确，快速和多路诊断疾病，以及药物筛选，具有相应的医疗保健和环境效益。拟议的工作将通过让本科生和研究生参与实验室工作，为他们提供重点研究和培训经验，并将帮助他们将纳米科学的基础知识与纳米技术的实际应用联系起来。

This Small Business Technology Transfer Research Phase I project will develop high-efficiency two-photon lasers based on microbeads doped with colloidal quantum dots (QDs) for applications in coherent-optical coding. Current two-photon lasing materials are generally organic dyes which exhibit fast photobleaching decay and low efficiencies. We propose to develop colloidal QD-based two-photon lasing materials that are efficient, photochemically stable, and able to enable effective pumping deep within biological samples. To develop a viable two-photon lasing product, featuring improved lasing stability, prolonged operation lifetime, enhanced upconversion efficiency, and reduced pumping threshold, the following objectives are proposed in the Phase I project: 1) Design engineered nanostructures that can significantly increase the two-photon absorption efficiency; 2) Study lasing efficiency and stability of the designed nanostructures; 3) Explore the applications of two-photon lasing in coherent optical coding. We expect to obtain stable, high-efficiency, and low-threshold QD lasing materials and QD-doped microbead lasers exhibiting multiple lasing wavelengths which could play key roles in biological barcode sensing and many other applications. In Phase II, we will collaborate with strategic partners to develop coherent optical barcoding based on the Phase I results, with the goal of high-accuracy and high-throughput analysis of biological molecules.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to produce stable and high-efficiency two-photon lasing materials and systems which can be used in medical and biological barcodes and on-chip nanolasers to advance the technologies of bio-medical sensing, clinical diagnostics, optical data storage, and telecommunications. The successful completion of this project will offer inexpensive, tunable-wavelength, and durable lasing systems for use in the $3.5 billion diode laser market. In particular, the proposed QD-based two-photon lasing materials can be employed in biological optical barcoding with key applications for accurate, rapid and multiplexed diagnostics of diseases, as well as drug screening, with corresponding health care and environmental benefits. The proposed work will provide focused research and training experience for undergraduate and graduate students by involving them in laboratory work, and will help them to connect fundamental nanoscience knowledge with the real-world applications of nanotechnology.