NEMILIES

Uncooled IR sensor prototype for high sensitivity at room temperature. Ready for market uptake.

The reliable and quantitative sensing of light is a fundamental task ubiquitous to modern technology. The infrared (IR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum hosts a wealth of intriguing interactions between radiation and matter, which are of particular interest for a wide range of applications including environmental, biological, chemical, pharmaceutical, and food & agriculture applications. Because of the low energy of IR photons, cryogenic cooling is required in order to reach the requisite high sensitivities in the mid- and far-IR. In the ERC PoC work (NIRD), a team developed an uncooled IR sensor prototype based on a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS), called NEMILIE, which can reach unprecedented sensitivity at room temperature. This radically new IR detector technology disrupts the IR detectors market with an innovative high-sensitivity solution able to reduce costs and penetrate industrial markets where cryogenic cooling is uncommon and impractical, opening an array of new possibilities.

The overall goal is to go beyond the proof of concept, bring the NEMILIE technology to maturity and achieve market readiness, thereby successfully transitioning the ERC PoC technology to market.