Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati have successfully developed a low-cost photodetector, which is innovative in application in healthcare, environmental monitoring, and the solar energy sector. A research by Prof. P. K. Giri from the Physics Department and scholars Debabrata Sahu, Subhankar Debnath, and Sirsendu Ghosal appeared recently in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

The newly designed photodetector is fabricated with highly advanced materials, such as formamidinium perovskite and 2D printed plasmonic nanoparticles, to increase the light detection and conversion. The photodetectors are the crucial components of cameras as well as medical imaging devices, environmental sensors, and communication systems with conversion goals towards light electric signals.

Superior light-absorbing properties of the perovskite materials make them highly eligible in the interests of photodetectors, solar cells, as well as other contemporary light-based technologies. The formamidinium-based perovskite with the use in this research shows that it is substantially stable and with high light conversion efficiency. Though its maturity has promoted it to be on a par with other mature materials of the same horizon, its performance so far has been slightly low due to the cost factor involved.

To address this, the team at IIT Guwahati incorporated plasmonic nanoparticles more specifically, silver (Ag) nanoparticles into the perovskite framework. These nanoparticles enhance absorption of light by localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) as a concentration of light onto the perovskite layer increases the sensitivity and efficiency of the photodetector.

"Our objective was to create an ultra-efficient photodetector that can also be quite affordable and reliable for deployment in the real world", Prof. Giri explained. "We enhanced the performance of the device design while being able to scale and make it cost-effective by infusing 2D printed plasmonic nanoparticles into the device".

By utilizing a microprinting technique, the authors were thus able to carefully arrange the nanoparticles in a very scalable and economic fashion. The device here is demonstrated to be robust for typical environmental conditions, thereby allowing the technology to be adequately applied.
 
This novel photodetector is capable of revolutionizing industries by improving the precision of medical images, enhancing environmental monitoring capabilities, or even increasing efficiency in solar energy systems.