Innovative Approaches to the Development of Zinc-Oxide (ZnO) Nanowire Technologies for Advancing Full-Spectrum Photonic Sensing

Intellectual Merits: This small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to develop (i) process for ZnO nanowire growth on any substrates (e.g. Si, Glass, Polymer etc.) with having control in size and density of nanowires, and also (ii) multispectral nanostructure image sensor based on ZnO nanowires for many military and industrial applications such as: target detection systems, proximity fuzes, LIDARs, non-destructive testing and inspection techniques, monitoring of the chemical quality and process control, remote sensing, and free space communication. Commercially available imaging sensors use Si material for detecting visible spectrum, GaN material system for UV spectrum detection, and InP material system for near infrared (IR) spectrum detection. A goal in Phase-I program is to carry on research and development of ZnO nanowires growth process over wide area of substrate and also design, fabricate, and testing the single detector having wide spectral response, extending from UV-VIS-Near IR having higher quantum efficiency > 80% and fast response (GHz ranges) for showing its benefits over conventional Si-based CMOS sensor. Recognizing the vast application potential of Banpil’s bolometer, several industrial partners have expressed strong interest in commercializing this technology. In Phase II, Banpil will work with several leading night vision companies who expressed strong interest on proposed multispectral image sensor, as a part of commercialization of the high sensitivity and fast response image sensor technology integrateable to Si-CMOS circuit.