100737588” Wafer-Processible INFIQ® QD Ink Development for SWIR QD Photodetector ManufacturingClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKPhotodetection of infrared (IR) light is used in many industries where its unique properties of sensing and imaging add significant capabilities beyond those of visible light. Current markets include telecommunications, surveillance, spectroscopy, thermal imaging, and healthcare, with growing demand in applications for consumer/mobile devices, autonomous vehicles, and novel medical diagnostics. The current indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) short-wave infrared (SWIR) sensor technology has low productivity and extremely high costs, due to its complex production processes and low yields limiting its applications to those where cost is less critical. Colloidal quantum dot (CQD)-based IR photodetectors have shown exceptional promise to disrupt the incumbent IR technologies combining wavelength tunability, high responsivity and solution processability. The current dominant technology uses lead sulphide (PbS) nanoparticles. The PbS CQD devices use inefficient layer-by-layer deposition processes involving up to 15 layers. Each layer requires multiple chemical treatments and washing steps, using large volumes of chemicals and solvents that are costly, inefficient (high material wastage) and must be disposed of safely. This project will solve all these problems by developing novel INFIQ(r) CQD inks enabling a simple one-step deposition process for the mass production of SWIR photodetectors. Quantum Science Ltd (QS) has proprietary processes and the know-how to make scalable SWIR CQDs and inks demonstrating high performance for photodetection. The current challenge is to provide large scale CQD inks ready to be adopted by simple and low-cost industrial coating methods. In this feasibility project the INFIQ(r) CQDs will be produced by scaleup methods, followed by QS proprietary ligand exchange processes carried out in the same reactor without purification of the synthesised QDs. The QD inks from pre-screened ligands, solvents and additives which demonstrate leading performance in devices will be manufactured on a large scale. Spin coating of the developed QD inks on 8-inch silicon wafers will provide feedback for the ink manufacturing process development. The CQD photodiodes fabricated on silicon wafers using the QD inks with world leading performance will give a feasible solution for the mass production of SWIR photodiodes and next stage of commercialisation.