High-sensitivity deep shortwave infrared organic photodetectors enabled by selenium-integrated quinoidal molecular semiconductor
8 affiliations
- 1Institute of Polymer Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Energy & Information Polymer Materials, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
- 2State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- 3School of New Energy, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo, China
- 4Dongguan Key Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Science for Advanced Materials and Large-Scale Scientific Facilities, School of Physical Sciences, Great Bay University, Dongguan, China
- 5Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- 6Frontier Institute of Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
- 7College of New Materials and New Energies, Shenzhen Technology University, Shenzhen, China
- 8Sinopec Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Shanghai, China
Abstract
Developing organic photodetectors (OPDs) that can detect in deep shortwave infrared (deep-SWIR) region (1.2–1.6 μm) is technologically important. Yet, the performance of the state-of-the-art deep-SWIR OPDs remains substantially limited. Herein, we report a selenium-integrated quinoidal small molecular acceptor, SeBz-4Cl, enabling highly sensitive deep-SWIR photodetection. Selenium incorporation enhances quinoidal character along the conjugated backbone of the molecules, thus expanding absorption approaching 1.5 μm. Moreover, SeBz-4Cl with strengthened intermolecular interactions led to an ideal film morphology, which reduced Urbach energy and favored charge dynamics. Under −1 V voltage bias, the SeBz-4Cl-based OPD achieved a low dark current density of 2.97 × 10−7 A cm−2 and an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 7.8% at 1310 nm, together with a high specific detectivity (D*) exceeding 1011 Jones across 500–1400 nm, representing advanced deep-SWIR OPD performance. Furthermore, an optical communication system and a flexible imager under 1.2 μm illumination were demonstrated, highlighting potential of these deep-SWIR OPDs for information electronics and next generation optoelectronic applications in future.
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BibTeX
@article{wei2026highsensitivity,
title = {{High-sensitivity deep shortwave infrared organic photodetectors enabled by selenium-integrated quinoidal molecular semiconductor}},
author = {Wenkui Wei and Bingyan Yin and Yeye Wang and Jing Wang and Xia Zhou and Baoqi Wu and Zhaochen Lv and Fan-Cheng Kong and Xianqiang Xie and Wei Chen and Haozhe Feng and Yunhao Cao and Yuchuan Tian and Kangzhe Liu and Mingqun Yang and Yanjun Fang and Sha Liu and Philip C. Y. Chow and Guanghao Lu and Guangye Zhang and Junyu Li and Fei Huang and Yong Cao and Chunhui Duan},
journal = {Nature Communications},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-78139-y},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78139-y},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - High-sensitivity deep shortwave infrared organic photodetectors enabled by selenium-integrated quinoidal molecular semiconductor
AU - Wenkui Wei
AU - Bingyan Yin
AU - Yeye Wang
AU - Jing Wang
AU - Xia Zhou
AU - Baoqi Wu
AU - Zhaochen Lv
AU - Fan-Cheng Kong
AU - Xianqiang Xie
AU - Wei Chen
AU - Haozhe Feng
AU - Yunhao Cao
AU - Yuchuan Tian
AU - Kangzhe Liu
AU - Mingqun Yang
AU - Yanjun Fang
AU - Sha Liu
AU - Philip C. Y. Chow
AU - Guanghao Lu
AU - Guangye Zhang
AU - Junyu Li
AU - Fei Huang
AU - Yong Cao
AU - Chunhui Duan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
JO - Nature Communications
DO - 10.1038/s41467-026-78139-y
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-78139-y
AB - Developing organic photodetectors (OPDs) that can detect in deep shortwave infrared (deep-SWIR) region (1.2–1.6 μm) is technologically important. Yet, the performance of the state-of-the-art deep-SWIR OPDs remains substantially limited. Herein, we report a selenium-integrated quinoidal small molecular acceptor, SeBz-4Cl, enabling highly sensitive deep-SWIR photodetection. Selenium incorporation enhances quinoidal character along the conjugated backbone of the molecules, thus expanding absorption approaching 1.5 μm. Moreover, SeBz-4Cl with strengthened intermolecular interactions led to an ideal film morphology, which reduced Urbach energy and favored charge dynamics. Under −1 V voltage bias, the SeBz-4Cl-based OPD achieved a low dark current density of 2.97 × 10−7 A cm−2 and an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 7.8% at 1310 nm, together with a high specific detectivity (D*) exceeding 1011 Jones across 500–1400 nm, representing advanced deep-SWIR OPD performance. Furthermore, an optical communication system and a flexible imager under 1.2 μm illumination were demonstrated, highlighting potential of these deep-SWIR OPDs for information electronics and next generation optoelectronic applications in future.
SN - 2041-1723
ER -