A novel graphene/QDs curved detector for space applications

Curved detectors have attracted more and more attentions and gradually become a focus research area due to the widespread applications of the optical imaging technology in the past few years. Unlike the traditional planar detectors, curved detectors have focal planes that can be bent into the same shape as the image surface of the optical system theoretically. As a consequence, the field curvature is directly suppressed as we don’t need to flatten the focal surface to fit a plane detector, leading to a simplified optical system and a better performance, especially suitable for optical imaging systems in space applications. However, due to the intrinsically planar nature of the established fabrication technology, it is extremely difficult to achieve these innovative detectors. In this paper, we summarized the latest works about curved detectors and proposed a novel type based on graphene/QDs. The device consists of a graphene/QDs film interconnected with a conventional readout circuit via a curved SiO2 substrate. A critical important design feature is the Au lines within the high depth-diameter ratio holes of the substrate, through which the graphene pixels are connected to the readout circuit. Compared to the published methods, the fabrication process of this detector is simplified, and the cost budget is reduced as well. More importantly, this detector can achieve a superior performance thanks to the prominent properties of graphene/QDs. We believe that our new device concept will stimulate the flow of ideas and contribute to the mature applications in the future.