Emerging Designs for Organic Infrared Photodetectors
Tina Ng
University of California, San Diego, USA
Abstract:The shortwave infrared spectral region (SWIR: 1-3 μm) is particularly powerful for health and environmental monitoring, enabling greater penetration depth and improved resolution in comparison to visible light. However, conventional SWIR sensors are limited by complex die transfer and bonding processing. This tutorial will discuss the advances made in organic infrared detectors to overcome the issues in conventional SWIR detectors. The organic devices show photo-response spanning from the visible to 1.7 micron, using a new generation of semiconducting polymers that are processed by solution processing techniques and allow simple direct deposition.
We will discuss the recent progress in clarifying the origin of efficiency losses and identify avenues that will improve sensor detector. Several demonstrations will show the various potential applications of organic infrared imagers, particularly for an up-conversion structure that combine photo-sensing and display in a compact structure without the need for pixilation. The imaging active area of 2 cm2 enabled concurrent recording of blood vessel location and blood flow pulses. Finally, we will conclude by examining future device designs that promote photomultiplication and spectral selectivity to enhance the functionalities of organic photodetector systems.
Biography:Tse Nga Tina Ng is an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of California San Diego (UCSD), USA. She received her PhD in Physical Chemistry in 2006 under the supervision of Professor John Marohn. Subsequently she worked at an industrial research lab Xerox Palo Alto Research Center before joining UCSD in 2015. Her work on organic photodetectors has received Silver Medal in the 2017 Bell Lab Prize, and she is named a Hartwell Investigator in 2017 and elected a Fellow of National Academy of Inventors in 2021. Her lab website can be found at http://flexible-electronics.ucsd.edu/publications/