Doped organic thermoelectric short wavelength infrared detectors

Photon-based organic photodetector performance drops rapidly when going beyond near-infrared light detection due to nonradiative recombination. Here, we report on a device concept for infrared detection using organic thermoelectrics coupled to an infrared absorption film for heat generation. These short wavelength infrared (SWIR) detectors show an excellent area normalized responsivity of over 10⁹ milliampere per watt per square meter at 1 V, two to three orders of magnitude higher than the conjugated polymer SWIR detector reported in the literature and typical organic photodetectors in the visible and near-infrared wavelength range. Moreover, the devices show a fast switch-on time with an estimated 3-decibel frequency of over 610 kilohertz, making the device suitable for a wide range of applications. However, the specific detectivity of the current device concept is limited to 10⁴ Jones. We discuss strategies for improving the specific detectivities of these detectors with technology computer-aided design simulations.