Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) silicon sensors play a central role in optoelectronics with widespread applications from small cell phone cameras to large-format imagers for remote sensing. Despite numerous advantages, their sensing ranges are limited within the visible (0.4−0.7 μm) and near-infrared (0.8−1.1 μm) range , defined by their energy gaps (1.1 eV). However, below or above that spectral range, ultraviolet (UV) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) have been demonstrated in numerous applications such as fingerprint identification, night vision, and composition analysis. In this work, we demonstrate the implementation of multispectral broadband CMOS-compatible imagers with UV-enhanced visible pixels and SWIR pixels by layer-by-layer direct optical lithography of colloidal quantum dots (CQDs). High-resolution single-color images and merged multispectral images were obtained by using one imager. The photoresponse nonuniformity (PRNU) is below 5% with a 0% dead pixel rate and room-temperature responsivities of 0.25 A/W at 300 nm, 0.4 A/W at 750 nm, and 0.25 A/W at 2.0 μm.

Image data acquired with fused multispectral information can be used for effective identification and navigation owing to additional information beyond human vision, including thermal distribution, night vision, and molecular composition. However, the construction of photodetectors with such capabilities is hindered by the structural complexity arising from the integration of multiple semiconductor junctions with distinct energy gaps and lattice constants. In this work, we develop a colloidal quantum-dot dual-mode detector capable of detecting, separating, and fusing photons from various wavelength ranges. Using three vertically stacked colloidal quantum-dot homojunctions with alternating polarity, single-band short-wave infrared imaging and fused-band imaging (short-wave and mid-wave infrared) can be achieved with the same detector by controlling bias polarity and magnitude. The dual-mode detectors show detectivity up to 8 × 10 10 Jones at the fused-band mode and 3.1 × 10 11 Jones at the single-band mode, respectively. Without image post-processing algorithms, the dual-mode detectors could provide both night vision and thermal information-enhanced night vision imaging capability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first colloidal quantum-dot detector that can achieve such functionality. The operation mode can be changed at a high frequency up to 1.7 MHz, making it possible to achieve simultaneously dual-mode imaging and remote temperature sensing.

Infrared imaging is extensively explored due to its unique properties of high atmospheric transmission and temperature-dependent emission. Unfortunately, the current epitaxial infrared materials suffer from a complicated fabrication process and low production yield, which hinders the further development of infrared imaging for civilian applications. As an alternative to epitaxial semiconductors, the wide spectral tunability and optical versatility of colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) have provided a promising route for infrared detection. Here, we demonstrate an infrared imager that integrates HgTe CQDs with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) readout integrated circuits. Moreover, the underlying metal contacts and passivation layer of the CMOS chip play a role as an in-pixel resonant-cavity , which enhances the absorption of the CQDs film. The CQDs imager exhibits a detectivity of 2.8 × 1010 Jones, an external quantum efficiency of 14%, and an operable pixel factor of over 99.99% for a cut-off wavelength of around 2 µm at room-temperature. With a large-format (1280 × 1024 pixels2) and a small pixel pitch of 15 µm, the resolution of the imager can reach 40 line pairs per millimeter (lp/mm). The performance of the CQDs imager is demonstrated by infrared imaging.

Silicon (Si) is a mature semiconductor detection material because of its appropriate bandgap, high reliability, and low-cost manufacturing process. However, the detection range of Si-based photodetectors is mainly restricted to visible and near-infrared (NIR) ranges. Broadening the detection range of Si-based detectors to ultraviolet (UV) could ignite numerous applications, including flame detection, defense safety, and environmental monitoring. Here, the obtained perovskite colloidal quantum dots (QDs) with high quality are integrated with a Si/graphene heterojunction to broaden and improve response. By the electrical coupling mechanism between graphene and QDs, the built-in potential in detectors is maximized. As a result, the devices exhibit a high UV responsivity of 0.33 A W−1 at 210 nm, 0.73 A W−1 at 400 nm, and a superior detectivity of nearly 1012 Jones under the UV region. Aside from that, the performance of devices under visible and NIR ranges is also dramatically improved compared to that of the one without perovskite QDs.

Colloidal quantum dot (CQD)–based photodetectors are promising alternatives to bulk semiconductor-based detectors to be monolithically integrated with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor readout integrated circuits avoiding high-cost epitaxial growth methods and complicated flip-bonding processes. To date, photovoltaic (PV) single-pixel detectors have led to the best performance with background-limit infrared photodetection performance. However, the nonuniform and uncontrollable doping methods and complex device configuration restrict the focal plane array (FPA) imagers to operate in PV mode. Here, we propose a controllable in situ electric field–activated doping method to construct lateral p-n junctions in the short-wave infrared (SWIR) mercury telluride (HgTe) CQD–based photodetectors with a simple planar configuration. The planar p-n junction FPA imagers with 640 × 512 pixels (15-μm pixel pitch) are fabricated and exhibit substantially improved performance compared with photoconductor imagers before activation. High-resolution SWIR infrared imaging is demonstrated with great potential for various applications including semiconductor inspection, food safety, and chemical analysis.