Publication date: 17th July 2025
The short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectral region (900–1700 nm) plays a critical role in emerging applications such as remote sensing, active imaging, and NIR spectroscopy. These applications require high-power, spectrally tailored light sources that can operate efficiently and stably over long durations. However, conventional SWIR-emitting technologies — particularly InGaAs-based LEDs and lanthanide phosphors — are expensive, difficult to scale up, and offer limited flexibility in emission wavelength, hindering their deployment in compact or cost-sensitive systems. This demands high-power, cost-effective SWIR emitters.
Colloidal quantum dots (QDs), especially lead chalcogenide systems like PbS, offer a transformative alternative owing to their solution processability, spectral tunability, and compatibility with low-temperature fabrication. In this work, we present efficient and stable PbS QD-based downconverters designed for high-performance broadband SWIR emission. Using a cost-effective, room-temperature, all-solution process, we achieve downconverter films with precise control over quantum dot size and surface chemistry, enabling tailored emission across the SWIR spectrum.
The resulting downconverters exhibit photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQY) exceeding 30% and emission powers reaching up to 80 mW (~300 mW/cm2) under continuous optical excitation. We further demonstrate optical power conversion efficiencies of up to 12%, and exceptional spectral tunability. We also demonstrate a broadband downconverter with emission ranging from 1000 to 1600 nm and full width at half maximum (FWHM) exceeding 400 nm. This allows the creation of both narrowband and broadband SWIR emitters from a single platform.
Operational stability testing under constant illumination reveals robust device performance, with a T80 lifetime of approximately 200 hours at peak emitted power. These figures highlight the viability of PbS QD downconverters not only for fundamental studies of emerging emitter materials but also for practical deployment in low-cost SWIR sources.
This work underscores the potential of colloidal PbS quantum dots as scalable, wavelength-tunable alternatives to traditional SWIR emitters, offering a promising route toward affordable, efficient, and stable SWIR light sources for next-generation photonic applications.
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