SBIR Phase I: Colloidal Quantum Dot Image Sensors for Low-Cost Short-Wave Infrared Imaging

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一种低成本红外成像设备，能够实时监测农产品，用于作物管理和产品质量检查。手持式和无人机安装的光谱工具越来越受欢迎，但它们有限的光谱范围无法直接测量作物成熟度和质量的独特标识，如油和糖的含量。此外，这项创新作为一项平台技术，将满足红外社区对低成本探测器阵列的更广泛需求，并使系统集成商能够开发摄像机系统，以提高驾驶员辅助车辆的安全性，提高先进制造技术的可靠性，并增强国家安全。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目开发了一种光电探测器阵列，该阵列使用红外可调谐半导体纳米晶体或胶体量子点生产。与晶体半导体技术不同，这些胶体量子点油墨使用廉价的溶液涂层技术直接在电子电路上形成光电探测器器件，这使得开发光谱范围为1000- 2500nm，像素分辨率大于640x512的小像素间距焦平面阵列成为可能，以解决低成本成像系统的市场机会。第一阶段的项目目标是通过控制表面化学、试剂浓度和工艺温度等工程因素对性能和热稳定性的影响，开发一种与现有短波红外传感技术在性能上竞争并与真空封装技术兼容的胶体量子点探测器阵列。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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 broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop a low-cost infrared imaging device that enables real-time monitoring of agricultural products for crop management and product quality inspection. Handheld and drone-mountable spectroscopic tools are gaining traction, but their limited spectral range fails to directly measure the unique identifiers of crop maturity and quality such as oil and sugar contents. Furthermore, this innovation, as a platform technology, will address a broader need of the infrared community for lower cost detector arrays and enable system integrators to develop camera systems to increase the safety of driver-assisted vehicles, improve the reliability of advanced manufacturing techniques, and enhance national security.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project develops a photodetector array produced using infrared-tunable semiconductor nanocrystals, or colloidal quantum dots. Unlike crystalline semiconductor technologies, these colloidal quantum dot inks are fashioned into photodetector devices directly on the electronic circuits using inexpensive solution coating techniques, which enables the development of a small pixel pitch focal plane array with a spectral range from 1000-2500 nm and pixel resolution greater than 640x512 to address market opportunities in low-cost imaging systems. The Phase I project objective is to develop a colloidal quantum dot detector array that competes on performance with existing technologies for shortwave infrared sensing and is compatible with vacuum packaging techniques by controlling the impact of engineering factors such as surface chemistry, reagent concentration, and process temperature on the performance and thermal stability.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.