New Graphene Camera Sensor Uses Light to Capture Clearer, Sharper Photos

Cameras are amazing devices, and they're becoming more precise over time. Yet one issue has plagued cameras for years; the pictures that they take in dim light tend to be more blurry. Now, researchers have found a way to take away that blurriness. They're using a new sensor made from graphene in order to allow cameras to take clear and sharp photos in dim conditions.

The new sensor made from graphene is thought to be the first of its kind to be able to detect broad spectrum light, which ranges from the visible to mid-infrared, with high photoresponse or sensitivity. This means that the sensor is suitable for use in all types of cameras, including infrared cameras, traffic speed cameras, satellite imaging and more. That could mean it could have huge implications for future use.

About 1,000 times more sensitive to light than current imaging sensors, the graphene sensor uses about 10 times less energy than traditional sensors. In addition, it's estimated to cost about five times cheaper when mass produced.

Wang Qijie, the inventor of the new sensor, created it by fabricating a graphene sheet into novel nanostructures. Graphene is a material that's a million times smaller than the thickest human hair and is made of pure carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb structure. It possesses both high electrical conductivity, is very strong and also very flexible. This makes it the new "super material" of the technological world.

"While designing this sensor, we have kept current manufacturing practices in mind. This means the industry can in principle continue producing camera sensors using the CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) process, which is the prevailing technology used by the majority of factories in the electronics industry," said Qijie in a news release. "Therefore manufacturers can easily replace the current base material of photo sensors with our new nano-structured graphene material."

So how exactly does it work? The nanostructures on the graphene "trap" light-generated electron particles, resulting in a much stronger electric signal. These signals can then be processed into an image. The "trapped electrons" in particular are responsible for the clearer, sharper image. The stronger the electric signals generated, the better the photo.

Currently, the researchers are planning on working with industry collaborators in order to develop the graphene sensor into a commercial product. In a matter of years, we could see the new sensor in our cameras, satellites and other imaging devices.

The details of this new technology are published in the journal Nature Communications.