CAREER: Multispectral broadband photodetectors based on multi-material films with intercalated graphene monolayers as charge collectors

光中编码的信息对于我们检测和响应周围发生的事件至关重要。我们的眼睛能够区分可见光范围内的不同波长，我们看到的不同颜色，使我们能够了解我们的环境。还有大量的信息编码在红外线和紫外线范围内的光中，我们的眼睛无法检测到。例如，许多危险气体、生物分子以及空气和水污染物在红外线中具有人眼无法检测到的光特征。这个NSF CAREER项目的目标是创建新一代紧凑型多光谱光电探测器，可以集成到便携式和个人设备中，实现红外和紫外光分析。这将使人们能够利用来自我们环境的大量红外和紫外信息来检测和应对我们周围的现象。在移动的电话中集成多光谱光电探测器将使诸如检查食品质量或污染、监测空气和水质量以及皮肤或体液中的设施疾病检测等应用成为可能。在教育方面，该计划旨在发展有关纳米器件制作的实践教育培训单元，促进学生在纳米技术培训中积极学习，并促进下一代纳米工程师的培训。用纳米材料开发更多的动手实验模块将促进学生的积极学习，并为他们提供在课堂上无法实现的行业所寻求的实验/技术技能。没有先进设备的纳米材料实践模块还将为大学预科学生，特别是资源和实验室设备有限的学校中代表性不足的学生，开发更具吸引力和积极性的外联活动。从紫外（UV）到中波红外（MWIR）的多光谱光电探测对于食品质量检测、健康监测、自主车辆导航和遥感等许多应用都很重要。然而，目前的技术需要昂贵的外延材料用于光电检测，特别是在MWIR中，和复杂的光学元件进行光谱分析，防止个人设备大规模部署多光谱光电探测器该项目旨在创建新一代基于薄膜的多光谱光电探测器，其具有低成本材料，可以集成到个人设备中，用于通过紫外-可见光进行多光谱探测和成像，MWIR光谱。其工作原理是，通过在不同深度使用插层石墨烯单层，并集成具有不同带隙的材料，可以实现具有多光谱分析能力的宽带光电探测。该项目旨在使用CVD石墨烯单层作为光吸收材料中不同深度的插层光载流子收集器，用于同时检测多个光谱波段。该项目还旨在整合具有各种带隙的多种材料，以覆盖较大的光谱范围。插层石墨烯的使用将允许从低成本加工材料中有效地提取电荷。该项目将创建新一代紧凑型多光谱光电探测器，可以集成在芯片上，无需复杂的光学元件。这项技术将使生物传感、生物医学成像和遥感等领域受益，并将紫外和红外光谱的多光谱探测器集成到移动的手机或便携式设备中。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The information encoded in light is critical for us to detect and respond to events happening in our surroundings. The capability of our eyes to distinguish different wavelengths in the visible range, what we see as different colors, enables us to understand our environment. There is also plenty of information encoded in light in the infrared and in the ultraviolet ranges that cannot be detected by our eyes. For example, many dangerous gases, biomolecules, and air and water contaminants have a light signature in the infrared that cannot be detected by the human eye. The goal of this NSF CAREER project is to create a new generation of compact multispectral photodetectors that can be integrated into portable and personal devices enabling light analysis in the infrared and ultraviolet. This would allow people to use the vast IR and UV information from our environment to detect and respond to phenomena surrounding us. Integrating multispectral photodetectors in mobile phones would enable applications such as checking for food quality or contamination, monitoring air and water quality, and facility disease detection in the skin or bodily fluids. On the educational aspect, this project aims to develop hands-on educational training modules on fabrication of nanoscale devices, facilitating active student learning in nanotechnology training and boosting the training of the next generation of nanoengineers. Developing more hands-on experimental modules with nanomaterials will facilitate active student learning and provide them with experimental/technical skills sought by industry that cannot be achieved in classrooms. Hands-on modules on nanomaterials without sophisticated equipment will also allow the development of more engaging and active outreach activities for precollege students, especially for underrepresented students at schools that may have limited resources and laboratory equipment. Multispectral photodetection from the ultraviolet (UV) to the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) is important for many applications like food quality inspection, health monitoring, autonomous vehicles navigation and remote sensing. However, current technologies require expensive epitaxial materials for photodetection, especially in the MWIR, and complex optical components for spectral analysis that prevent the large-scale deployment of multispectral photodetectors for personal devices This project aims to create a new generation of thin-film-based multispectral photodetectors with low-cost materials that can be integrated into personal devices for multispectral detection and imaging through the UV-Vis-MWIR spectrum. The principle of operation is that by using intercalated graphene monolayers at different depths and integrating materials with different bandgaps, it is possible to achieve broadband photodetection with multispectral analysis capability. This project aims to use CVD graphene monolayers as intercalated photocarrier collectors at different depths in light-absorbing materials for simultaneous detection of multiple spectral bands. This project also aims to integrate multiple materials with various bandgaps to cover a large spectral range. The use of intercalated graphene will allow efficient charge extraction from low-cost processing materials. The project will create a new generation of compact multispectral photodetector that can be integrated on a chip without complex optical components. This technology could benefit fields such as biosensing, biomedical imaging and remote sensing, as well as enable the integration of multispectral detectors reaching the UV and IR spectrum into mobile phones or portable devices.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.