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A High-Performance Solution-Processed Organic Photodetector for Near-Infrared Sensing
Jianfei Huang1,2, Jaewon Lee1,2, Joachim Vollbrecht1
1Center for Polymers and Organic Solids, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|November 13, 2019
Summary
Researchers developed novel organic photodetectors with high near-infrared (NIR) sensitivity using a new nonfullerene acceptor, CO1-4Cl. These detectors achieve record responsivity and detectivity, enabling practical applications like heart-rate monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Organic electronics
- Photodetector technology
- Materials science
Background:
- Organic photodetectors (OPDs) are crucial for near-infrared (NIR) light detection.
- Existing OPDs face limitations in NIR sensitivity due to absorption cutoffs, low responsivity, and high dark currents.
- There is a need for advanced OPDs with enhanced performance for diverse applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present novel organic photodetectors utilizing an ultranarrow-bandgap nonfullerene acceptor, CO1-4Cl.
- To demonstrate significantly improved NIR responsivity and detectivity in these new OPDs.
- To explore the potential of these OPDs in practical applications such as photoplethysmography.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of organic photodetectors incorporating the novel CO1-4Cl nonfullerene acceptor.
- Characterization of device performance, including responsivity, detectivity, and dark current.
- Evaluation of device integration in photoplethysmography systems for heart-rate monitoring.
Main Results:
- The developed OPDs exhibit responsivity exceeding 0.5 A W⁻¹ in the 920-960 nm NIR region, the highest reported for organic photodiodes.
- Optimized devices achieve specific detectivity approaching 10¹² Jones up to 1010 nm, comparable to commercial silicon photodiodes.
- Effective suppression of space charge limited current onset and shunt leakage current contributes to high performance.
Conclusions:
- The novel ultranarrow-bandgap nonfullerene acceptor CO1-4Cl enables high-performance NIR organic photodetectors.
- These OPDs offer competitive sensitivity and detectivity for NIR light detection.
- The technology shows promise for real-time monitoring applications, including photoplethysmography for heart-rate tracking.
