Brilliant Matters Organic Electronics inc.

Purpose

This project aims to develop new materials to enable low-cost, flexible and visibly transparent detection of near-infrared (NIR) light. Current detectors are high performance but are costly to fabricate and limited in form factor. Novel materials such as organic semiconductors (OSCs) or 2D materials have shown promise for NIR detection. In particular the modular synthesis of OSCs allows a huge variety of possible structures, enabling precise control of the absorption characteristics and compatibility with low-temperature solution processing techniques. However, NIR detectors based on OSCs tend to have poor environmental stability and there are challenges in designing materials which are sensitive at the second NIR window. Combining semiconducting polymers with 2D materials could lead to flexible, inexpensive devices. Brilliant Matters will collaborate with NRC and the 2D Materials and Electrochemical Devices lab at the University of Waterloo in order to investigate the potential for these hybrid materials and deliver additively manufactured flexible, transparent NIR photodetectors. This will enable a transformative leap in applications, moving away from the cost and design limitations of expensive, rigid and opaque sensors.