On-chip colloidal quantum dot devices for near-infrared optoelectronics

胶体量子点（CQD）是溶液处理的半导体，其能级可以通过改变CQD尺寸来改变。CQD掺杂材料和强耦合CQD膜被报道用于各种光电器件，包括发光二极管（LED）、激光器、光电探测器和太阳能电池。虽然CQD光电子学具有光明的前景，但高性能CQD光电子器件需要在器件中具有上级电子特性（例如电子迁移率）的CQD膜和针对每种应用的优化的器件架构。因此，开发用于光电子学的CQD器件的研究问题是复杂和具有挑战性的，需要大量的创新和原创性来改进CQD薄膜和工程CQD集成器件。近红外（NIR）光的产生和检测具有许多应用，例如光通信、医学成像、夜视相机、高光谱传感、用于自动驾驶汽车的LiDAR。还需要将光子器件单片集成到CMOS电子电路（Si芯片）上。为了解决这些重要的应用，主要的研究目标是：1）开发高电子/空穴迁移率的CQD薄膜和CQD油墨，可以在Si芯片上产生这样的薄膜; 2）通过将CQD集成到Si芯片上来展示快速NIR光电探测器和NIR图像传感器; 3）使用蓝色LED实现光泵浦NIR连续波CQD激光器。拟议的计划涵盖CQD合成和薄膜加工，器件建模，CQD光电探测器和激光器的制造和表征，以及CQD在Si芯片上的集成的研究和培训学生。它将使CQD成为集成硅光子电路中光源和光电探测器的未来材料。** 拟议的研究计划的目标是光电子学和微/纳米纤维领域的知识进步。该研究领域的新奇和预期意义包括：它将解决开发具有上级电子特性的CQD薄膜的主要挑战;它将提供使用CQD芯片技术的新CQD器件架构;最后，它将使高性能CQD器件用于NIR光电子学。在过去的十年中，加拿大光子产业受益于全球光电子市场的强劲增长，因为该国在光子研发方面发挥了主导作用。现在，对红外图像传感器和激光器的需求不断增长，这是由于数据中心的安全应用和光学系统的需求增加，以及农业、采矿和自动驾驶汽车的高光谱成像的新市场。拟议的工作将有助于加拿大确保其在低成本和高性能近红外光电器件的光子研发方面的领导地位。

Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are solution-processed semiconductors that their energy levels can be altered by changing CQD sizes. CQD doped materials and strongly coupled CQD films are reported for various optoelectronic devices, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs), lasers, photodetectors and solar cells. While CQD optoelectronics have a bright future, high-performance CQD optoelectronic devices requires CQD films with superior electronic properties (e.g. electron mobility) in the devices and an optimized device architecture for each application. Thus, the research problems of developing CQD devices for optoelectronics are complex and challenging, requiring a great deal of innovation and originality to improve CQD films and engineer CQD-integrated devices.******Near-infrared (NIR) light generation and detection have many applications, such as optical communications, medical imaging, night vision cameras, hyperspectral sensing, LiDAR for self-driving cars. There is also a demand to monolithically integrate photonic devices onto CMOS electronic circuits (Si chips). To tackle these important applications, the main research objectives are to 1) develop high electron/hole mobility CQD films and CQD inks that can produce such films on Si chips; 2) demonstrate fast NIR photodetectors and NIR image sensors by integrating CQDs onto Si chips; 3) achieve optically pumped NIR continuous-wave CQD lasers using blue LEDs. The proposed program covers research and training students on CQD synthesis and film processing, device modeling, fabrication and characterization of CQD photodetectors and lasers, and integration of CQDs on Si chips. It will enable CQDs as future materials for light sources and photodeteoctors in integrated silicon photonic circuits. ******The proposed research program targets knowledge advance in the field of optoelectronics and micro-/nanofabrication. The novelty and expected significance to the research field include: it would address the major challenge of developing CQD films with superior electronic properties; it would provide new CQD device architectures using CQD-on-chip technologies; finally, it would enable high-performance CQD devices for NIR optoelectronics. Over the past decade, Canadian photonics industry has benefited from strong global growth in optoelectronics market for the country's leading role in photonics R&D. Now, growing demand for infrared image sensors and lasers is predicted by increased needs in the security application and optical systems for data centers, as well as new markets from hyperspectral imaging for agriculture, mining and self-driving cars. The proposed works will help Canada to assure its leadership in photonic R&D on low-cost and high-performance NIR optoelectronic devices.