Colloidal Quantum Dots for Cost Reduction in EO/IR Detectors for Infrared Imaging

There is a strong and urgent need for developing low-cost high performance infrared detector technology that can operate at higher temperatures (> 250 K). Over the years, many new and innovative technologies have emerged that have made some progress towards this goal, but the gap between high performance and low-cost has been difficult to bridge, until recently. Since the development of colloidal quantum dots, which can be synthesized readily with simple low-cost equipment, there has been a significant push towards developing a CQD IR camera. We propose innovative chemical reactions to make well-passivated air-stable MWIR absorbing CQDs that are n and p-type. We also propose an innovative method to deposit p and n-type CQDs that will yield superior charge transport properties yielding IR devices with a high quantum efficiency (>30 %). The successful completion of our Phase I effort will ultimately lead to the development of a low-cost MWIR CQD IR camera.