High-performance optical detectors and imaging systems for emerging applications

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Over the next 5 years, we will pursue an aggressive research program on advanced, high-sensitivity and high-speed photodetectors and optical detection systems targeted to emerging applications in medicine, biology, biomolecular sciences and chemistry. This will represent a major forward leap in current research. It will significantly leverage existing research expertise and leading edge results, to model, design, fabricate and characterize novel photodetectors and imaging systems using optimized device designs, circuits and systems, as well as emerging semiconductor detector structures and materials such as quantum dots and antimonides, respectively. We will also leverage existing research expertise in ultra-low-power CMOS-based integrated circuits to create fully integrated silicon-based and hybrid compound semiconductor-based optical detection systems for low-cost, miniaturized analytical systems. These systems will be used for diagnostic testing in medicine, for fluorescence-based detection, and for detecting various gaseous pollutants such as methane, ammonia, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide. These hybrid or fully integrated systems will utilize photodetectors based on silicon for new single-photon and pixel configurations, or on antimony for quantum-dot infrared photodetectors. The proposed research work will be divided along two major material types - silicon and compound semiconductors.