Lead sulfide-based QDs like Quantum Science’s INFIQ technology can be tuned to wavelengths across the near and shortwave infrared spectra. This grants sensors equipped with them the ability to capture vast quantities of ‘invisible’ data. As a proven, low-cost technology, QDs can provide the enhanced material sensing capability that the industry needs.

According to Quantum Science, the recent development of lead-free QD technology sensitive to wavelengths up to 1,550 nm will also soon start unlocking exciting short-wave infrared (SWIR) applications in consumer electronics by providing a non-toxic, high-performance solution.

The rise of cheaper alternatives to indium-gallium-arsenide (InGaAs) sensors has already disrupted the multi-billion-dollar market for SWIR capable electronics, with machine vision businesses already seeing the benefits of affordable low pixel pitch and high-resolution imaging first hand.

“SWIR capability will provide the next great leap in imaging and sensing by broadening the range of data accessible by devices, and increasingly, vision industry players are recognizing this and investing in cameras that can take advantage of this technology. As they do so, the applications of this technology will expand: from enabling artificial intelligence to reach its full potential by feeding it with higher quality invisible data, to high-performance industrial cameras sorting plastic waste to benefit the environment, the answer lies in SWIR,” said Quantum Science’s CEO and founder Dr Hao Pang.

Applications in the automotive sector are described in a new article which is already available online open at the WileyOnlineLibrary.com and will be included in the ‘photonics for quantum technology’ focus section of PhotonicsViews issue 1/2024, out January 16. For subscription options, please use the PDF form below.

Reference: H. Pang (Quantum Science): The quantum revolution in vehicle sensor technology – How quantum dots are empowering vehicle safety and automation features, PhotonicsViews 22(1), February / March 2024, DOI: 10.1002/phvs.202300038 (online open)

Further reading: S. Stubbs (Quantum Science): How the hidden quantum realm reveals the invisible – tunable quantum dots offer a sought-after breakthrough in SWIR sensing and imaging, PhotonicsViews 19(6), December 2022 / January 2023, DOI: 10.1002/phvs.202200046 (online open)