BIOMEDICAL IMAGING/NANOTECHNOLOGY: Extreme low-light imaging to benefit from photodetector material

March 18, 2014

Ultrathin "nanosheets" -- indium selenide (In2Se3)-based material made of highly efficient nano-sized light detectors -- could provide a huge benefit to low-light biomedical imaging, and with little cost.

Barbara Gefvert

Efficient nanosheet photodetectors could dramatically improve low-light imaging equipment, including cameras for biomedical research and assessment as well as cell phone-based mobile diagnostics.

Ultrathin "nanosheets"—indium selenide (In₂Se₃)-based material made of highly efficient nano-sized light detectors—could provide a huge benefit to low-light biomedical imaging, and with little cost.

"Future cameras based on these nanosheet photodetectors may be able to provide a robust, real-time picture in even the most extreme low-light conditions," said SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE; Albany, NY) research assistant Robin Jacobs-Gedrim, who is first author on a paper describing the development.¹ The CNSE innovation could lead not only to more efficient imaging devices, but also impact smartphones along with many other everyday devices. End results could include improved healthcare outcomes and new biomedical discoveries.

1. R. Jacobs-Gedrim et al., ACS Nano, 8, 1, 514–521 (2014).

About the Author

Barbara Gefvert | Editor-in-Chief, BioOptics World (2008-2020)

Barbara G. Gefvert has been a science and technology editor and writer since 1987, and served as editor in chief on multiple publications, including Sensors magazine for nearly a decade.