Grant: Idea to Innovation

High-speed infrared photodetectors have wide applications in self-driving by light/laser detection and ranging (LIDAR/LADAR), optical quantum, night vision, astronomy, medical imaging, and microscopy. The current high-speed photodetection and photosensing products, which use traditional semiconductor materials such as silicon, GaAs, and InP, are rather expensive due to their complex manufacturing processing. Thus, there is critical need to have an efficient and low-cost high-speed IR photodetector technology to overcome above unfriendly operation conditions such as high electrical field, cryogenic temperature, bulky, and complex manufacturing process. Brock University researchers have demonstrated efficient and low-cost infrared high-speed photodetectors, which can be synthesized using the wet-chemistry method and can be fabricated by solution-processing on substrates, leading to significant cost reduction. A provisional US patent application will be filed very soon.