NANOPARTICLE/METAL-ORGANIC INKS FOR CDZNTE

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This SBIR Phase I project addresses the need for low-temperature, large-area deposition routes to CdZnTe electronic materials for use in flat panel x-ray image detectors. According to the research plan, a novel ink composition will be formulated to allow growth of CdZnTe materials at temperatures less than 300 xC.The process will utilize a hybrid ink containing CdZnTe nanoparticles mixed with a reactive dispersant in a non-aqueous solvent. The reactive dispersant, a metal-organic molecule, will strongly coordinate to CdZnTe nanoparticles to form a suspension at ambient temperatures. During spray deposition, this reactive dispersant will thermally transform into CdZnTe and byproducts at relatively low-temperature. If high-quality CdZnTe materials can be deposited in such a fashion according to a low-temperature (i.e., <300 xC) process, the approach is directly amenable to application on amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film transistor (TFT) arrays. Coupling a CdZnTe photoconductor with an a-Si TFT would result in the formation of a flat panel x-ray image detector. Such detectors could enable real-time interactive x-ray imaging.