Fast infrared sensors for advanced 3D imaging

我们将推进一项新的飞行时间（ToF）距离测距技术，使3D成像成为可能。该技术应用于消费电子和汽车领域-当今市场在传感器层面的总价值达100亿美元，并以23%/年的复合年增长率增长。消费电子产品对增强现实和增强用户体验的需求日益增加;可靠的面部识别和生物识别技术，以保护个人数据的隐私和安全;以及在汽车行业，对精确的机器视觉，以实现安全的自动驾驶汽车。现有技术依赖于近红外（通常为850和940 nm）光的亚纳秒脉冲的发射，一旦从被成像的物体（目标）反射，就使用硅光电探测器进行检测。从源发射到返回到检测器之间的延迟时间包含有关物体距离的信息。今天的技术受到硅对长于1100 nm的红外光不敏感的限制-这是一个具有成本效益和高效光源的光谱区域，并且背景太阳辐射最小化。目前硅的替代品，如InGaAs，成本太高，难以集成到现有的读出电子系统中。我们的新ToF技术采用胶体量子点（QD）来实现在1380 nm波长下工作的高效、快速且具有成本效益的光电探测器。这笔赠款将用于开发原型，并将其性能与现有/现有技术进行系统比较。这些结果将是吸引初创公司种子投资的关键，并建立战略合作伙伴关系，以加快拟议技术的上市时间。

We will advance a new technology for time-of-flight (ToF) distance ranging that enables 3D imaging. The application of the technology is in the consumer electronics and automotive sectors - markets today totaling multi-$10Billion at the sensor level, and growing at 23%/year CAGR. There is increasing demand in consumer electronics for augmented reality and enhanced user experience; reliable face identification and biometrics for privacy and security of personal data; and, in the automotive sector, for accurate machine vision to enable safe self-driving cars. The incumbent technology relies on the emission of sub-nanosecond pulses of near-infrared (typically 850 and 940 nm) light that, once reflected from the object being imaged (the target), are detected using a silicon photodetector. The delay time between emission from the source, and return to the detector, contains information about the distance of the object. Today's technologies are limited by silicon's insensitivity to infrared light longer than 1100 nm - a spectral region where cost-effective and efficient light sources exist, and background solar radiation is minimized. The present-day alternatives to silicon, such as InGaAs, are too costly and difficult to integrate in existing readout electronic systems. Our new ToF technology employs colloidal quantum dots (QD) to realize efficient, fast, and cost-effective photodetectors operating at 1380 nm. This grant will enable the development of a prototype and the systematic comparison of its performance compared to existing / incumbent technologies. These results will be key to attract seed investment in a startup company and to establish strategic partnerships to accelerate the time to marketing of the proposed technology.