A research team of School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering of Chung-Ang University, Korea led by Prof Park Sung-kyu developed the world’s first core technology for high-performance quantum-dot based image sensors that do not require color filters with a research team led by Prof Kim Myung-gil of Sungkyunkwan University and researchers from Hyundai Motor Company.
The research team minimized the interference effect of quantum-dot based optoelectronic devices to achieve a highly efficient charge transfer and succeeded in realizing a high-performance image sensor that can detect all wavelengths from ultraviolet (UV) to infrared (IR) without color filters by using semiconductor process and design technologies. So far, it has been difficult to commercialize photodetectors due to their limited application and low efficiency. High costs of color filters used to produce them have also been an obstacle for their commercialization.
Ph.D. student Kim Jae-hyun served as the lead author of the study under the guidance of Prof. Park Sung-kyu and Prof. Kim Myung-gil. The study was conducted to go one step further based on the outcomes of previous research carried out by Prof. Park and Prof. Kim’s research teams and published in Nature and Nature Materials in 2012 and Science Advances in 2018. The newly developed technology is expected to become a core technology in various sectors including semiconductor, display, and sensor that will be leading industries for future generations. Also, experts say that it will create new value by replacing highly import-dependent materials used in each sector.
Prof Park said, “The new technology can replace existing photodetectors thanks to its low cost, low power consumption, and better performance. We believe that it will be widely used in various areas including self-driving vehicles, wearable sensors, and medical devices.”
The article “A skin-like 2-dimensionally pixelized full-color quantum dot photodetector” was published in Science Advances on Nov 22.