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A microsized optical spectrometer based on an organic photodetector with an electrically tunable spectral response

Nature Electronics volume 7, pages 694–704 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Miniaturized optical spectrometers could be of use in portable and wearable applications. Such devices have typically been based on arrays of photodetectors that provide distinct spectral responses or use complex miniaturized dispersive optics. However, these approaches often result in large centimetre-sized systems. Here we report a microsized optical spectrometer that is based on an optical-spacer-integrated photomultiplication-type organic photodetector with a bias-tunable spectral response. The approach allows the computational reconstruction of an incident light spectrum from photocurrents measured under a set of different bias voltages. The device, which has a footprint of 0.0004 cm2, is capable of broadband operation across the entire visible wavelength with a sub-5-nm resolution. To illustrate the capabilities of this approach, we fabricate an 8 × 8 spectroscopic sensor array that can be used for hyperspectral imaging.

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Fig. 1: Schematic of the microsized optical spectrometer.
Fig. 2: Optimization of active layer and top transparent contact.
Fig. 3: Characterization of photoresponse.
Fig. 4: Demonstration of spectrum reconstruction.
Fig. 5: Demonstration of spectroscopic applications and hyperspectral imaging.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Code availability

The codes that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Y. Zhou for the AFM measurement and helpful discussions. This project is supported by the General Research Fund from Hong Kong Research Grants Council (reference no. 14209620, to N.Z.) and the Excellent Young Scientists Fund from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (reference no. 62022004, to N.Z.).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronic Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Xie He, Yuanzhe Li, Hui Yu, Guodong Zhou & Ni Zhao

  2. College of Integrated Circuits, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Guodong Zhou

  3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Lingyi Ke & Hin-Lap Yip

  4. School of Energy and Environment, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Hin-Lap Yip

  5. Hong Kong Institute for Clean Energy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Hin-Lap Yip

  6. Center of Super-Diamond and Advanced Films, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China

    Hin-Lap Yip

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  1. Xie He
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Contributions

X.H. and N.Z. conceived the idea. X.H. conducted the optical simulation, device fabrication and characterization, and application demonstrations with assistance from Y.L., H.Y. and G.Z. L.K. and H.-L.Y. measured the refractive indices and suggested the use of PNDIT-F3N. X.H. and N.Z. wrote and revised the manuscript. N.Z. supervised the project. All the authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ni Zhao.

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Supplementary Figs. 1–17 and Table 1.

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He, X., Li, Y., Yu, H. et al. A microsized optical spectrometer based on an organic photodetector with an electrically tunable spectral response. Nat Electron 7, 694–704 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-024-01199-9

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