Principal Investigator Dr. Goutam Koley awarded $360,000 NSF grant

Dr. MVS Chandrashekhar is Co-PI on the grant.

Dr. Goutam Koley (left), Principal Investigator, and his Co-PI, Dr. MVS Chandrashekhar (right), have received a National Science Foundation award of $360,000 for 3 years for the proposal titled, “Nanoelectromechanical Uncooled Infrared Sensor Using Epitaxial Graphene.”

The objective of the research project is to develop highly sensitive uncooled Infrared (IR) sensor using polymer/epitaxial few layer graphene (FLG) composite film as a novel sensing element. The sensor would utilize unique material properties of epitaxial FLG films grown on SiC, and is anticipated to offer (i) ultra low detector Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) of ~2 mK, (ii) uncooled broadband operation, (iii) very fast response time in the s range, (iv) applications in focal plane array due to usage of uniform large area epitaxial graphene.

Although traditionally IR detectors based on narrow bandgap semiconductors have demonstrated better performance, they need to be cooled to cryogenic temperatures to obtain their best performance. However, this leads to complicated and bulky system design, and larger power requirement, which seriously limit their applications in portable devices and mass deployment. Large area epitaxial growth of FLG on SiC substrate provides a unique opportunity to combine the uncooled detector technologies and produce a novel high-performance uncooled IR sensor. Epitaxial growth of graphene also provides the uniformity in the material necessary for third generation focal plane array applications. Several unique properties of graphene (which was discovered only in 2004, and the discoverers have been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics), make this structure exceptionally suitable for fabrication of IR sensors. These include the atomically thin layers, exceptionally high mobility of electrons, very high absorption coefficient, and high biaxial material strength.

Successful completion of the proposed research is expected to result in high-performance uncooled IR sensors that are fast, highly sensitive, have small foot print and very low power consumption. These sensors can have transformative and even disruptive impacts in the science and technology of IR detection, with immediate applications in defense, homeland security, astronomy, environmental monitoring, along with a large variety of industrial and civilian applications.