Recently scientists at Nanyang Technological
University invented a new camera sensor which could revolutionize current
camera market by its ability to take clear photos in dim conditions.
The new sensor made from graphene, is believed to
be the first to be able to detect broad spectrum light, from the visible to
mid-infrared, with high photoresponse or sensitivity. This means it is suitable
for use in all types of cameras, including infrared cameras, traffic speed
cameras, satellite imaging and more.
Not only is the graphene sensor 1,000 times more
sensitive to light than current imaging sensors found in today's cameras, it
also uses 10 times less energy as it operates at lower voltages. When mass
produced, graphene sensors are estimated to cost at least five times cheaper due
to its high electrical conductivity among other properties such as durability
and flexibility.
This sensor could have great impact not only on
the consumer imaging industry, but also in satellite imaging and communication
industries, as well as the mid-infrared applications, While designing this
sensor, current manufacturing practices have been kept in mind. This means the
industry can in principle continue producing camera sensors using the CMOS
(complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) process, which is the prevailing
technology used by the majority of factories in the electronics industry.
Therefore manufacturers can easily replace the current base material of photo
sensors with our new nano-structured graphene material. Cost of manufacturing
imaging sensors will fall, which eventually leads to cheaper cameras with
longer battery life, if this is adopted by industry.
Researcher came up with an innovative idea to
create nanostructures on graphene which will trap light-generated electron
particles for a much longer time, resulting in a much stronger electric signal.
Such electric signals can then be processed into an image, such as a photograph
captured by a digital camera. The trapped electrons is the key to achieving
high photoresponse in graphene, which makes it far more effective than the
normal CMOS or CCD (charge-coupled device) image sensors. Essentially, the
stronger the electric signals generated, the clearer and sharper the photos. The
performance of graphene sensor can be further improved through nanostructure
engineering of graphene.
