Flexible graphene photodetectors for wearable fitness monitoring.

Wearable health and wellness trackers based on optical detection are promising candidates for public health uses due to their noninvasive tracking of vital health signs. However, so far, the use of rigid technologies hindered the ultimate performance and form factor of the wearable. Here, we demonstrate a new class of flexible and transparent wearables based on graphene sensitized with semiconducting quantum dots (GQD). We show several prototype wearable devices that are able to monitor vital health signs noninvasively, including heart rate, arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2), and respiratory rate. Operation with ambient light is demonstrated, offering low-power consumption. Moreover, using heterogeneous integration of a flexible ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive photodetector with a near-field communication circuit board allows wireless communication and power transfer between the photodetectors and a smartphone, offering battery-free operation. This technology paves the way toward seamlessly integrated wearables, and empowers the user through wireless probing of the UV index.

High speed low power optical detection of sub-wavelength scatterer.

Optical detection of scatterers on a flat substrate, generally done using dark field microscopy technique, is challenging since it requires high power illumination to obtain sufficient SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) to be able to detect sub-wavelength particles. We developed a bright field technique, based on Fourier scatterometry, with special illumination and detection control to achieve this goal with a power level that can be sustained by most substrates including polymers. The performance of the system in a roll-to-roll line in production environment and strict throughput requirement is shown.