jbrehm2, May 31, 2013 | View original publication
Researchers develop first low-light organic photodetector
Work by a group of UNL researchers in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and the Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience was featured on the cover of the April issue of the journal Advanced Optical Materials.
Jinsong Huang, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering, December master's degree graduate Fawen Guo and graduate student Zhengguo Xiao, report the development of an organic photodetector that has the ability to function at low light levels.
Huang said organic photodetectors are an attractive, low-cost alternative to conventional photodetectors made of expensive inorganic semiconductors, but until now they haven't been able to detect low light levels.
Huang and his group succeeded by developing a fullerene-based organic photodetector.
A fullerene is any molecule composed entirely of carbon, in the form of hollow spheres (buckyballs), ellipsoids or cylinders (carbon nanotubes or buckytubes).
