Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison claimed that they have created a phototransistor, which is fastest and most responsive flexible phototransistor till now. According to the researchers, their newest innovation is a huge breakthrough in digital imagining sector.

The most responsive phototransistor was created by Jack Ma, the Lynn H. Matthias Professor, and a fellow researcher, Jung-hun Seo. A phototransistor senses, collects light information and then converts it into an electrical charge. Wavelength of that light and force decides the quality of electrical charge.

According to a report of NYC Today, the researchers said the phototransistor that they have engineered is a sensitive, highly responsive and flexible phototransistor which is soon going to change digital imaging technology. They also said the phototransistor could be used in a range of digital devices, such as smoke detectors, night vision glasses, medical imaging equipment and satellites. By integrating the phototransistor into lens of a digital camera, bulkiness can be reduced, the researchers claimed. It could also improve speed and quality of pictures and videos.

Uncover Michigan described the new optic innovation by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers showed the ability of photodetection under twisting conditions. Professor Ma said, "It shows the capabilities of high- sensitivity photodetection and stable performance under bending conditions, which have never been achieved at the same time".

Like human eyes, phototransistors essentially sense and collect light, then convert that light into an electrical charge proportional to its intensity and wavelength. In the case of our eyes, the electrical impulses transmit the image to the brain. In a digital camera, that electrical charge becomes the long string of 1s and 0s that create the digital image.

One important aspect of the success of the new phototransistors is the researchers' innovative "flip-transfer" fabrication method, in which their final step is to invert the finished phototransistor onto a plastic substrate. At that point, a reflective metal layer is on the bottom.

University Professor Zhenqiang Ma explained that unlike other photodetecting structures, the new silicon phototransistor is much more efficient because light cannot be blocked by metal layers. Meanwhile, scientists say that the new silicon phototransistor can be used in low-light photography, even without the extra setup stated above. There are electrodes attached underneath the silicon nanomembrane (Si NM) layer of the phototransistor, enabling it to sense weak light. These electrodes act as reflectors and can boost light absorption without the use of any amplifier.

In a digital camera, this electrical charge becomes the long string of 1s and 0s that create the digital image. This new product is more flexible and could easily copy the behavior of human eyes.

The technology will be patented though the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). In a recent order pronounced by a U.S. court, Apple was ordered to pay millions of dollars to WARF in a patent infringement case about processing technology developed by University of Wisconsin researchers.

Ma said in conclusion that this demonstration shows the capabilities of high-sensitivity photodetection and stable performance under conditions which have never been achieved at the same time.

As per the researchers, the new phototransistor will overcome current phototransistors' limitations as they are fabricated on a rigid surface. The new phototransistor is flexible and able to mimic the behavior of mammals' eyes, they added.