What do motion detectors, self-driving cars, chemical analyzers and satellites have in common? They all contain detectors for infrared (IR) light. At their core and besides readout electronics, such detectors usually consist of a crystalline semiconductor material. Such materials are challenging to manufacture: They often require extreme conditions, such as a very high temperature, and a lot of energy. Empa researchers are convinced that there is an easier way. A team led by Ivan Shorubalko from the Transport at the Nanoscale Interfaces laboratory is working on miniaturized IR detectors made of colloidal quantum dots.
