Researchers take step toward developing 'electric eye'

Date:
April 19, 2022
Source:
Georgia State University
Summary:
Using nanotechnology, scientists have created a newly designed
neuromorphic electronic device that endows microrobotics with
colorful vision. The newly designed artificial vision device
could have far- reaching applications for the fields of medicine,
artificial intelligence, and microrobotics.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Georgia State University researchers have successfully designed a new
type of artificial vision device that incorporates a novel vertical
stacking architecture and allows for greater depth of color recognition
and scalability on a micro-level. The new research is published in the
top journal ACS Nano.


========================================================================== "This work is the first step toward our final destination-to develop a
micro- scale camera for microrobots," says assistant professor of Physics Sidong Lei, who led the research. "We illustrate the fundamental principle
and feasibility to construct this new type of image sensor with emphasis
on miniaturization." Lei's team was able to lay the groundwork for the biomimetic artificial vision device, which uses synthetic methods to
mimic biochemical processes, using nanotechnology.

"It is well-known that more than 80 percent of the information is
captured by vision in research, industry, medication, and our daily
life," he says. "The ultimate purpose of our research is to develop a micro-scale camera for microrobots that can enter narrow spaces that
are intangible by current means, and open up new horizons in medical
diagnosis, environmental study, manufacturing, archaeology, and more."
This biomimetic "electric eye" advances color recognition, the most
critical vision function, which is missed in the current research
due to the difficulty of downscaling the prevailing color sensing
devices. Conventional color sensors typically adopt a lateral color
sensing channel layout and consume a large amount of physical space and
offer less accurate color detection.

Researchers developed the unique stacking technique which offers
a novel approach to the hardware design. He says the van der Waals semiconductor- empowered vertical color sensing structure offers precise
color recognition capability which can simplify the design of the optical
lens system for the downscaling of the artificial vision systems.



========================================================================== Ningxin Li, a graduate student in Dr. Lei's Functional Materials Studio
who was part of the research team, says recent advancements in technology
make the new design possible.

"The new functionality achieved in our image sensor architecture all
depends on the rapid progress of van der Waals semiconductors during
recent years," says Li. "Compared with conventional semiconductors, such
as silicon, we can precisely control the van der Waals material band
structure, thickness, and other critical parameters to sense the red,
green, and blue colors." The van der Waals semiconductors empowered
vertical color sensor (vdW-Ss) represent a newly-emerged class of
materials, in which individual atomic layers are bonded by weak van der
Waals forces. They constitute one of the most prominent platforms for discovering new physics and designing next-generation devices.

"The ultra-thinness, mechanical flexibility, and chemical stability of
these new semiconductor materials allow us to stack them in arbitrary
orders. So, we are actually introducing a three-dimensional integration strategy in contrast to the current planar micro-electronics layout. The
higher integration density is the main reason why our device architecture
can accelerate the downscaling of cameras," Li says.

The technology currently is patent pending with Georgia State's Office
of Technology Transfer & Commercialization (OTTC). OTTC anticipates this
new design will be of high interest to certain industry partners. "This technology has the potential to overcome some of the key drawbacks
seen with current sensors, says OTTC's Director, Cliff Michaels. "As nanotechnology advances and devices become more compact, these
smaller, highly sensitive color sensors will be incredibly useful."
Researchers believe the discovery could even spawn advancements to help
the vision-impaired one day.

"This technology is crucial for the development of biomimetic
electronic eyes and also other neuromorphic prosthetic devices," says
Li. "High-quality color sensing and image recognition function may bring
new possibilities of colorful item perception for the visually impaired
in the future." Lei says his team will continue pushing these advanced technologies forward using what they've learned from this discovery.

"This is a great step forward, but we are still facing
scientific and technical challenges ahead, for example, wafer-scale integration. Commercial image sensors can integrate millions of pixels to deliver high-definition images, but this has not been implemented in our prototype yet," he says. "This large-scale van der Waals semiconductor
device integration is currently a critical challenge to be surmounted
by the entire research society. Along with our nationwide collaborators
that is where our team is devoting our efforts."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Georgia_State_University. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
* Illustration_of_electric_eye ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Ningxin Li, Aisha Okmi, Tara Jabegu, Hongkui Zheng, Kuangcai Chen,
Alexander Lomashvili, Westley Williams, Diren Maraba, Ivan
Kravchenko, Kai Xiao, Kai He, Sidong Lei. van der Waals
Semiconductor Empowered Vertical Color Sensor. ACS Nano, 2022;
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c09875 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220419092342.htm

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