Human eyes possess exceptional image sensing characteristics such as spectacularly wide field of view (FOV), high resolution and sensitivity with low aberration. Biomimetic eyes with the same superior characteristics are highly desirable in many technological applications. However, the spherical nature of biological eyes, particularly the core component of retina, poses an enormous challenge for fabrication of biomimetic eyes. Herein, we demonstrate a unique biomimetic electrochemical eye using a hemispherical retina made of high-density array of nanowires mimicking photoreceptors on a real retina. The device design has a high degree of structural similarity to a real human eye with potency to achieve a high imaging resolution when individual nanowires are electrically addressed. Meanwhile, image sensing function of our biomimetic eye device is also demonstrated. The work here may lead to a new generation of photosensing and imaging devices based on a bioinspired design that can benefit a wide spectrum of technological applications.

Large-scale and highly ordered 3D perov-skite nanowire (NW) arrays are achieved in nanoengineering templates by a unique vapor-solid-solid reaction process. The excellent material properties, in conjunction with the high integration density of the NW arrays, make them promising for 3D integrated nanoelectronics/optoelectronics. Image sensors with 1024 pixels are assembled and characterized to demonstrate the technological potency.

Organometal halide perovskite materials have triggered enormous attention for a wide range of high-performance optoelectronic devices. However, their stability and toxicity are major bottleneck challenges for practical applications. Substituting toxic heavy metal, that is, lead (Pb), with other environmentally benign elements, for example, tin (Sn), could be a potential solution to address the toxicity issue. Nevertheless, even worse stability of Sn-based perovskite material than Pb-based perovskite poses a great challenge for further device fabrication. In this work, for the first time, three-dimensional CHNHSnI perovskite nanowire arrays were fabricated in nanoengineering templates, which can address nanowire integration and stability issues at the same time. Also, nanowire photodetectors have been fabricated and characterized. Intriguingly, it was discovered that as the nanowires are embedded in mechanically and chemically robust templates, the material decay process has been dramatically slowed down by up to 840 times, as compared with a planar thin film. This significant improvement on stability can be attributed to the effective blockage of diffusion of water and oxygen molecules within the templates. These results clearly demonstrate a new and alternative strategy to address the stability issue of perovskite materials, which is the major roadblock for high-performance optoelectronics.