One Device-Dual Function: InAs Quantum Dots-Based Integrated SWIR Emission and Detection for Next-Generation Wearable Devices

Description du projet

Les points quantiques pour améliorer la précision des biocapteurs

Reposant sur des composants distincts d'émission et de détection de la lumière, l.es biocapteurs portables fournissent souvent des mesures inexactes et ne peuvent détecter qu'une gamme limitée de biomarqueurs. Avec le soutien du programme Actions Marie Skłodowska-Curie, le projet QDots-ID va créer un dispositif unique qui combine les deux fonctions, fonctionnant dans la gamme infrarouge. Ce dispositif utilisera des points quantiques pour fournir des capteurs compacts et économes en énergie, fonctionnant de manière fiable sur toutes les carnations. Les points quantiques seront fonctionnalisés avec de courts ligands inorganiques pour assurer leur stabilité et un transport de charge efficace, puis transformés en films minces uniformes. Ces films seront intégrés à des couches de transport de charges dans un unique empilement de diodes, fonctionnant à la fois comme une LED et un photodétecteur. Les résultats de QDots-ID ont des implications pour le diagnostic précoce et les soins de santé personnalisés.

Objectif

QDots-ID is a 24-months research project focusing on the development of a CMOS-compatible integrated photonic platform capable of short-wave infrared (SWIR) emission and detection within a single device.
Current wearable biosensors rely on separate light-emitting diode (LED) and photodetector (PD) modules operating in the near-infrared (NIR) range, which restricts biomarker coverage and reduces accuracy across different skin tones. QDots-ID will develop high-quality, RoHS-compliant InAs quantum dot (QD) ink using advanced passivation strategies to suppress trap states and non-radiative recombination losses. The QDs will be functionalized with short inorganic ligands to ensure colloidal stability and efficient charge transport, and then processed into uniform thin films. These optimized films will be integrated with tailored charge transport layers into a single diode stack operating in the SWIR range, exhibiting dual functionality as an LED under forward bias and as a PD under reverse bias, which eliminates the need for discrete modules. Proof-of-concept integration with a CMOS chip will demonstrate a compact, energy-efficient dual-function SWIR device suitable for real-world applications.
This innovation enables low-cost wearable biosensors for early diagnostics and personalized healthcare, operating beyond the NIR range to expand biomarker detection and improve accuracy across skin tones, and aligning with European Green Deal objectives for sustainable health technologies.
During the project, the researcher will learn and adopt advanced methods from nanochemistry, thin-film engineering, spectroscopy, device physics, and biomedical diagnostics to design, fabricate, and validate dual-function SWIR devices.
The project will be carried out by the researcher at Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), under the supervision of Prof. Arjan J. Houtepen. The applying researcher is Dr. Awais Ali (M), currently a post-doctoral researcher at Korea University, Seoul (KR).