New Graphene Sensor for more sensitive camera

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.