Nanostructured materials for photon detection - Sargent Group.pdf

review article Published online: 16 May 2010 |  doi: 10.1038/nnano.2010.78 nanostructured materials for photon detection 1,2 1 gerasimos Konstantatos and edward h. sargent * The detection of photons underpins imaging, spectroscopy, fibre-optic communications and time-gated distance measurements. Nanostructured materials are attractive for detection applications because they can be integrated with conventional silicon electronics and flexible, large-area substrates, and can be processed from the solution phase using established techniques such as spin casting, spray coating and layer-by-layer deposition. In addition, their performance has improved rapidly in recent years. Here we review progress in light sensing using nanostructured materials, focusing on solution-processed materials such as colloidal quantum dots and metal nanoparticles. These devices exhibit phenomena such as absorption of ultraviolet light, plasmonic enhancement of absorption, size-based spectral tuning, multiexciton generation, and charge carrier storage in surface and interface traps. he visible light that we are all used to seeing and recording silicon electronics13, or with flexible substrates such as those based represents just a small fraction of the information that radia- on organic and polymer materials14. Ink-jet printing, solution cast- Ttion carries about our world. For example, X-rays enable ing, low-temperature evaporation, and layer-by-layer techniques are imaging in medicine and inspection of civil infrastructure; high- therefore very attractive alternatives to high-temperature epitaxy 15. resolution