Non‐Halogenated Solvent Processed Shortwave Infrared Organic Photodetectors Using Sub‐1 eV Bandgap Acceptor with Cyano Substitution
Hoang Mai Luong, Jong‐Woon Ha, Hiba Wakidi, Sangmin Chae, Ahra Yi, S. Mukherjee, Do Ngoc Son, Vivian Worthington, Brian Minki Kim, Zhong‐Ze Qu, Hyo Jung Kim, Un‐Hak Lee, Sung Cheol Yoon, Harald Ade, Seo‐Jin Ko, Thuc‐Quyen Nguyen
Abstract
Abstract Shortwave infrared (SWIR) organic photodetectors (OPDs) offer significant potential but face persistent challenges such as limited responsivity and high noise under reverse bias. This work presents the development of high‐performance OPDs for SWIR sensing, leveraging a newly designed non‐fullerene acceptor (NFA) named 6CN. The 6CN molecule, featuring a fused‐cyclopentadithiophene (fCPDT) core and cyano‐substituted π‐bridges, exhibits an ultra‐narrow optical bandgap of ≈0.98 eV, enabling efficient SWIR absorption up to 1250 nm. When blended with the PTB7‐Th polymer donor, the resulting bulk‐heterojunction (BHJ) demonstrates strong charge transfer, broad spectral coverage, and robust charge transport. Notably, device fabrication employs the environmentally friendly solvent o‐xylene without halogenated additives, yielding OPDs with superior photoresponse compared to those processed from conventional chlorinated solvents. The o‐xylene processed devices achieve high responsivity (≈0.2 A W −1 at 1200 nm) and specific detectivity exceeding 3 × 10 11 Jones across 300–1200 nm, representing a significant advance for eco‐friendly, flexible SWIR photodetection technologies.