Low-Cost, Higher-powered Cameras in Smartphones

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, AR, USA. A team of engineering researchers have invented a material which could be used for smartphones and computer chips for vehicles. Germanium tin which is stored in layers on a substrate of silicon is used for the project. By using this material, an outcome of better and economical infrared cameras for smartphones is expected. The quality of images that it should project shall be similar to the ones in military and satellite equipment.

This material can be used to create semiconductor material for computer chips and other electronics. Possibly, even other functions along with lasers and Solar Cells with great performance may benefit from the outcome. They wanted to test the device’s performance with different temperatures ranging from 77 to 300 on the Kelvin scale. According to Fisher Yu, “The performance of these simple structures indicates a promising future for germanium tin photodetectors.” The clear success of the specimen in an industrially available reactor permits these infrared detectors to be feasible commercially.

The group of researchers responsible for this discovery is headed by Fisher Yu, an associate professor of electrical engineering. He worked together with Wei Du, postdoctoral in the Department of Electrical Engineering; Benjamin Conley, doctoral student in the microelectronics-photonics graduate program; and Hameed Naseem, professor of electrical engineering. They created devices using a system where fragile layers of germanium tin are permitted to be collected on silicon without any damage on combined circuits.

As of now there are only a few studies on germanium tin with the same goal. The same group of researchers is working with an independent company that makes most machine-epitaxy tools for producing microelectronics devices. They have also initiated a branch company, Arktonics, to prepare the equipment and materials for saleability.

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