Beyond Silicon: Toward Sustainable, NIR‐II, and Conformable Organic Photodiodes
Hrisheekesh Thachoth Chandran, Jiaming Huang, Hao Xia, Rakesh Rajendran Nair, Shen Xing, Gang Li, Karl Leo, Johannes Benduhn
Abstract
Abstract Photodetectors (PDs) based on organic materials have evolved as a compelling alternative to inorganic PDs, specifically in domains where inorganic materials have limitations in terms of spectral coverage and intrinsic mechanical characteristics. This perspective emphasizes the importance of strategic research efforts toward promising functional domains, such as conformable and near infrared‐II photodetection. In such contexts, organic photodetectors (OPDs) are highly valued due to their tunable spectral coverage, conformability, and favorable sustainability metrics. The transformative advances in recent years, specifically in conformable and NIR‐II domains, are first outlined. Building on this, a future roadmap with key strategies on application‐specific device/material innovations, interface engineering targeting low‐bandgap material systems, and end‐use dependent operational stability analysis is proposed. Finally, the pathways for translating lab‐scale breakthroughs to commercially viable technologies are discussed, underscoring the urgent need to adopt sustainable design/manufacturing practices with end use in mind, to integrate regulatory and sustainability metrics into the academic research for market readiness, and to ensure system integration with existing product ecosystem. By positioning the future research efforts into untapped domains, rather than incremental advancements in silicon's stronghold arenas, this perspective aims to motivate the research community to work toward targeted and application‐driven innovations and breakthroughs in OPDs.