Ink Jet Printing of High Performance SWIR Imagers

A full, wafer scale nanocrystal detector technology will be used to fabricate compact, light weight, low power, low cost short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) sensors. This approach is based on integration of inorganic nanocrystal films with large-format, small-pixel-pitch CMOS readout integrated circuits (ROICs). Using solution processing, the nanocrystal films can be printed directly onto ROICs, allowing high resolution (e.g.<10µm pitch) focal planes to be realized at low cost, without the need for indium bump bonding. In Phase I, a series of SWIR sensitive nanocrystals will be developed, optimized with inorganic ligands, and short wavelength infrared (SWIR) sensitive films will be analytically characterized. The films will be integrated with high resolution readout integrated circuits (ROICs) and the optical performance of fully-functional SWIR imagers will be demonstrated. In Phase II, the performance of the detectors will be optimized and large format, high pixel density imagers will be fabricated, field tested, and reliability tested.