NWO funding for improved image sensors
For research into better image sensors, Prof. Maria Antonietta Loi of the Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials will receive a EUR 1 million grant from the NWO Open Technology Program (OTP). With an interdisciplinary team, she will develop a type of image sensor for smartphones that can be used for important new tasks such as health monitoring, night vision and assisted autonomous driving.
Loi is coordinating the project, co-applicant is Dr. Loredana Protesescu. Industrial partners account for about EUR 240,000 of the total amount.
Protesescu: "With this exceptional team, we are going to overcome scientific and technological hurdles and deliver a new and cheap image sensor that will not only have a disruptive impact on society but also an enormous economic impact.”
Extended sensitivity
If image sensors similar to the ones present nowadays in every smartphone had extended sensitivity in the short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) region, they could be used for important tasks in among others consumer electronics, healthcare and agriculture. The team will develop new photodiodes and read-out electronics, and assemble them in image sensors that cover the useful spectral range, using processes and materials that result in an overall low-cost technology.
Broad impact
Protesescu, in collaboration with industrial partner Quantum Solutions (QS), will work on designing and manufacturing quantum dots needed to make this highly sensitive prototype image sensor. She is excited to get started on the research: "With this exceptional team, we are going to overcome scientific and technological hurdles and deliver a new and cheap image sensor that will not only have a disruptive impact on society but also an enormous economic impact.” Prof. Loi focuses on device fabrication in collaboration with VisEra Technology Co. (VisERA), and New Imaging Technologies (NIT).
Open Technology Program
The Open Technology Program provides funding for application-oriented technical-scientific research. Scientists from all disciplines can submit proposals, and various companies and partners can participate in a project by making a financial or material contribution. Research applications are submitted throughout the year. This round, a total of six research projects received funding.
| Last modified: | 18 March 2024 2.36 p.m. |
More news
-
19 May 2025
Science for Society | Rubber recycling possible thanks to revolutionary method
The Ben Feringa Impact Award was presented to him on 13 May: Francesco Picchioni, professor of Chemical Technology (FSE). The reason for his award? An important innovation that allows rubber recycling without loss of quality. Start-up New Born...
-
14 May 2025
Darker Zernike Day – Explore the effects of Light Pollution
In the afternoon of May 24th 2025, Zernike Campus will host its first ever Darker Zernike Day, in collaboration with the Interreg North Sea project Darker Sky . The event will bring awareness to the increasing light pollution in the Netherlands and...
-
13 May 2025
PFAS: breaking down the forever chemicals
PFAS accumulates in the environment, and is harmful for humans and animals. Biochemist Clemens Mayer and PhD student Suzanne Jansen are working on enzymes that can break down PFAS.