Flexible Large Area SWIR Colloidal Quantum Dot Down Converters Based on Scalable Manufacturing Processes

The growing demand for efficient, compact, and cost-effective short-wave infrared (SWIR) emitters has surged due to their wide-ranging applications in industries such as biomedical diagnostics, food and pharmaceutical quality control, agriculture, and environmental monitoring. Conventional SWIR sour...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Vincent, Stephy, Nikolaidou, Katerina, Dalmases Solé, Mariona, Dosil, Miguel, Malla, Aditya, Wang, Yongjie, Konstantatos, Gerasimos
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/427304
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/427304
https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/admt.202401960
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Quantum dots
Punts quàntics
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Física
Descripción
Sumario:The growing demand for efficient, compact, and cost-effective short-wave infrared (SWIR) emitters has surged due to their wide-ranging applications in industries such as biomedical diagnostics, food and pharmaceutical quality control, agriculture, and environmental monitoring. Conventional SWIR sources are limited by bulkiness, inefficiency, and high cost, while phosphor-converted Light Emitting Diodes (pc-LEDs) based on transition metal ions or lanthanides face challenges such as fixed wavelengths, narrow absorption bands, and high-temperature manufacturing processes. Lead sulfide (PbS) colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) offer a promising alternative, combining wavelength tunability, synthesis simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY). In this study, a scalable manufacturing process is introduced to fabricate flexible, high-performance SWIR down-converters (DCs) based on PbS CQDs embedded in an ethyl cellulose (EC) polymer matrix. Performance enhancements are achieved through a solution-phase ligand exchange (SPLE) with 1-dodecanethiol (DDthiol), improving passivation and device efficiency. When excited by a 980 nm LED, the DC achieves a SWIR output power density of 0.54 mW mm(-)(2) and a photon conversion efficiency of approximate to 15%. A practical application is demonstrated with a custom-built SWIR torch based on thin-film CQD DCs, shown to penetrate smoke, highlighting the potential of this technology for real-world use cases.