SBIR Phase II: Innovations in Nanowire Manufacturing: Large Scale Synthesis of Inorganic Semiconducting Nanowires and Application to Printed Photosensors

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project aims to further develop large-scale manufacturing methods for inorganic semiconductor nanowires. These nanowires will be used to make printed photosensors, a superior alternative to conventional light sensing devices. Traditional synthetic methods for nanowires are extremely expensive, and only produce extremely small quantities of nanowires. The proposed technology seeks to produce a cost-effective method to make nanowires at large scale. Without a reduction in cost, and an increase in production volumes, commercial products based on nanowires are still not viable. By developing effective printing techniques, this program will significantly drive down the cost to produce printed photosensors. A specific demonstration objective is to use these nanowires to make a printed photosensing device with performance characteristics similar to conventional devices. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to provide innovative and superior technologies for printed and flexible electronics compared to what is available today. Flexible electronics technology is expected to be increasingly applied in a variety of applications including energy (photovoltaics, batteries, and lighting), consumer devices (displays, sensors, actuators), healthcare (sensors), communication: radio frequency identification (RFID), and defense (sensors, photovoltaics, displays). The area of flexible electronics is a rapidly growing global market. Appropriate novel technologies must be developed to replicate current solid state devices; these include printable semiconductors, insulators, and conductors. The manufacturing technology being developed in this project will facilitate the use of inorganic semiconducting nanowires for printed photo sensors with both flexible and transparent characteristics. The optical sensors market is a significant end use application for the technology being developed in this program.