Solution-Processed Phototransistors Combining Organic Absorber and Charge Transporting Oxide for Visible to Infrared Light Detection

This report demonstrates high-performance infrared phototransistors that use a broad-band absorbing organic bulk heterojunction (BHJ) layer responsive from the visible to the shortwave infrared, from 500 to 1400 nm. The device structure is based on a bilayer transistor channel that decouples charge photogeneration and transport, enabling independent optimization of each process. The organic BHJ layer is improved by incorporating camphor, a highly polarizable additive that increases carrier lifetime. An indium zinc oxide transport layer with high electron mobility is employed for rapid charge transport. As a result, the phototransistors achieve a dynamic range of 127 dB and reach a specific detectivity of 5 × 1012 Jones under a low power illumination of 20 nW/cm2, outperforming commercial germanium photodiodes in the spectral range below 1300 nm. The photodetector metrics are measured with respect to the applied voltage, incident light power, and temporal bandwidth, demonstrating operation at a video-frame rate of 50 Hz. In particular, the frequency and light dependence of the phototransistor characteristics are analyzed to understand the change in photoconductive gain under different working conditions.