Origin of Dark Current Robustness in Photomultiplication Organic Photodetectors Enabled by Ionic Conjugated Electron‐Blocking Layers

ABSTRACT Photomultiplication‐type organic photodetectors (PM OPDs), which rely on signal amplification via electron trapping, suffer from a fundamental trade‐off: high gain is typically accompanied by a steep increase in dark current under high reverse bias. Here, we overcome this challenge by employing ionic conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE)‐based electron blocking layers (EBLs) with an alternating fluorene‐co‐triphenylamine backbone. CPE‐based EBLs in PM OPDs enable robust dark current stability under reverse bias up to −10 V while maintaining external quantum efficiencies (EQE) exceeding 2000%. Charge‐dynamics analysis using Fowler–Nordheim plots reveals that a nanometer‐thick CPE layer provides electron‐blocking performance comparable to that of a ∼20 nm Al 2 O 3 layer. At the same time, we show that the nature of the ionic side chains (cationic vs anionic) in CPEs governs interfacial energy‐level alignment, thereby modulating hole selectivity and photocarrier dynamics. The design principles establish a general framework for interfacial and field engineering across a broad range of photodetector platforms—from organic to hybrid systems—guiding the development of next‐generation photodetectors.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Materials
Published
2026-07-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.74371
Primary Topic
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Origin of Dark Current Robustness in Photomultiplication Organic Photodetectors Enabled by Ionic Conjugated Electron‐Blocking Layers

Yelim Kang, Changhwan Shin, Soonyong Lee, Min Hun Jee et al.
Advanced Materials
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
article

Origin of Dark Current Robustness in Photomultiplication Organic Photodetectors Enabled by Ionic Conjugated Electron‐Blocking Layers

Yelim Kang, Changhwan Shin, Soonyong Lee, Min Hun Jee, Jae Won Shim, Huiseong Shin, Shuai Zhang, Fujun Zhang, Xingchao Zhao, Sang Heon Lee, Xiaoling Ma, Jung Min Ha, Han Young Woo
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Photomultiplication‐type organic photodetectors (PM OPDs), which rely on signal amplification via electron trapping, suffer from a fundamental trade‐off: high gain is typically accompanied by a steep increase in dark current under high reverse bias. Here, we overcome this challenge by employing ionic conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE)‐based electron blocking layers (EBLs) with an alternating fluorene‐co‐triphenylamine backbone. CPE‐based EBLs in PM OPDs enable robust dark current stability under reverse bias up to −10 V while maintaining external quantum efficiencies (EQE) exceeding 2000%. Charge‐dynamics analysis using Fowler–Nordheim plots reveals that a nanometer‐thick CPE layer provides electron‐blocking performance comparable to that of a ∼20 nm Al 2 O 3 layer. At the same time, we show that the nature of the ionic side chains (cationic vs anionic) in CPEs governs interfacial energy‐level alignment, thereby modulating hole selectivity and photocarrier dynamics. The design principles establish a general framework for interfacial and field engineering across a broad range of photodetector platforms—from organic to hybrid systems—guiding the development of next‐generation photodetectors.

Advanced Materials
Korea University (KR), Beijing Jiaotong University (CN)
National Research Foundation of Korea
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 16%
Organic Electronics and Photovoltaics
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