Pixelless imaging device using optical up-converter

Abstract

A pixelless imaging device based on optical wavelength conversion was designed and fabricated. The up-converter consisted of an integrated InGaAs/InP PIN photodetector and an InGaAsP/InP light-emitting diode (LED) epitaxially grown on a single InP substrate. Incoming 1.5 m optical radiation was absorbed by the p-i-n detector and generated a photocurrent. The resultant photocurrent was used to bias the LED that emitted at 1 m, which could be detected by conventional silicon charge coupled device. Pixelless imaging by the device has been demonstrated at room temperature.Index Terms-Charge coupled devices (CCDs), image converters, infrared detectors, infrared image sensors, infrared imaging, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), optical frequency conversion, pixelless imaging.

Transparent Organic Upconversion Devices for Near‐Infrared Sensing

“…However, an in‐depth understanding of interfacial properties regarding the lattice mismatch or the use of wafer fusion technology is required for integrating heterogeneous semiconductor materials . Although an NIR image was demonstrated, the requirement of an Si readout integrated circuit and restrictions regarding the type of substrate that can be used hinder commercialization …”

“…Inorganic‐ and organic‐based upconverters still cannot display a real three‐dimensional (3D) image by illuminating an object with NIR irradiation. Previous studies have proposed using only a shadow mask to project two‐dimensional (2D) letters or the on/off effect of OLED emission . A possible reason for inorganic upconverters is the lateral current spreading caused by their high conductivity, whereas the organic upconverters are influenced by a narrow dynamic range because of low sensitivity, both of which contribute to the low resolution and contrast ratio of real 3D images.…”

Multi-spectral imaging with infrared sensitive organic light emitting diode

“…However, growing an inorganic LED on top of a photodetector requires lattice matching of two material systems; as a result, only a limited choice of materials are available. For example, III-V semiconductor based up-conversion devices can only up-convert light of wavelength 1.5 µm to 1 µm, and the final NIR image is captured using a conventional silicon CCD camera89. For IR-to-visible up-conversion, IR-to-visible up-conversion devices have been demonstrated by integrating an InGaAs/InP photodetector with an organic light emitting diode (OLED)10111213.…”

Near-infrared to visible light optical upconversion by direct tandem integration of organic light-emitting diode and inorganic photodetector

“…[1][2][3][4] The near infrared optical upconverters in the eye-safe region around 1.5 m are of particular interest because of its many potential applications such as night vision, range finding, homeland security, and semiconductor wafer inspection. [5][6][7][8][9] Monolithic integration of a detector and an emitter using direct epitaxial growth 1,5 or wafer fusion technique [6][7][8] has been demonstrated. In monolithic devices by direct epitaxial growth, the band gap difference between the active region of a light-emitting device and the active region of the photodetector is highly restricted due to stringent lattice-matching requirements imposed by the uninterrupted epitaxial growth of the various layers in the devices.…”