Researchers design highly sensitive, mass producible organic photodetectors

Most of today's imaging sensors are based on CMOS technology and inorganic photodetectors that convert light signals into electric signals. Although photodetectors made from organic materials are attracting attention because they can help boost sensitivity, for example, it has proven difficult to fabricate high-performance organic photodetectors. Researchers now describe new green-light absorbing transparent organic photodetectors that are highly sensitive and compatible with CMOS fabrication methods. Incorporating these new photodetectors into organic-silicon hybrid image sensors could be useful for applications such as light-based heart-rate monitoring, fingerprint recognition and devices that detect the presence of nearby objects.