Strain‐Induced Detectivity Enhancement in Intrinsically Stretchable Organic Photodetectors
Intrinsically stretchable organic photodetectors (IS-OPDs) are essential for next-generation wearable electronics requiring both mechanical durability and reliable optical sensing. However, current performance of IS-OPDs degrades under tensile strain due to inherent trade-offs between mechanical and optoelectronic properties in photoactive layers. Here, we report the development of the IS-OPD that exhibits strain-induced detectivity (D) enhancement, enabled by designing mechanically robust and efficient bilayer-type photoactive architecture (EBL-D). Specifically, we incorporate percolated polymer donor (P<sub>D</sub>):elastomer networks at the bottom layer, which simultaneously offer excellent stretchability and efficient charge transport. Subsequently, we deposit a small-molecule acceptor layer atop the P<sub>D</sub>:elastomer layer, expanding the optical absorption range into the near-infrared region while minimizing undesirable charge recombination. The resulting IS-OPD based on the EBL-D architecture maintains high responsivity and effectively suppresses dark current under strain. Consequently, the device exhibits 1.5-fold improvement in specific detectivity from 1.9 × 10<sup>13</sup> to 2.8 × 10<sup>13</sup> Jones at λ = 860 nm under 75% strain, corresponding to a 1.3-fold increase in D after accounting for the enlarged photoactive area. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to experimentally demonstrate strain-induced D enhancement in stretchable OPDs.
Authors
- Junsu Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9583-7978)
- C Wang
- Jin‐Woo Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1052-3417)
- Du Hyeon Ryu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1225-6607)
- Won Jung Kang
- Hang Ken Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2104-5334)
- Bumjoon J. Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7783-9689)
- Hyesu Jeon
- Jongmin Oh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3552-5125)
- Hyunbum Kang
- Hyeong Ju Eun
Institutions
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)
- Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- University of Ulsan (KR)
- Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KR)
- Ajou University (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2026-02-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202514951
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00