Self‐Adaptive Infrared Vision via Neural‐Controlled Gain Compression in a Single Photodetector

ABSTRACT Biological vision relies on eye‐mediated gain control to adapt across lighting conditions—but remains fundamentally blind to infrared wavelengths and polarization. Here, we report a neuromorphic photodetector that not only emulates this self‐adaptive functionality, but surpasses human vision by enabling dynamic gain regulation across the infrared–polarization domain. Using a gate‐tunable Au/BP/PdSe ₂ van der Waals heterostructure (vdWH), we achieve eye‐like nonlinear gain compression via electrostatic barrier reconfiguration, which enables dynamic modulation of both the response area and responsivity. Integrated with a neural‐network‐based microcontroller, the system forms a device‐level closed‐loop that autonomously adjusts optical gain in real time. This expands the linear dynamic range (LDR) by three orders of magnitude, reaching ∼80 dB at 1550 nm, with sub‐millisecond response and intrinsic polarization sensitivity (PR > 10)—all without external optics or analog circuitry. These results establish a scalable, intelligent optoelectronic platform that augments biological perception and advances chip‐scale self‐adaptive vision for autonomous sensing and edge photonic intelligence.