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Towards high and reliable specific detectivity in visible and infrared perovskite and organic photodiodes

Nature Reviews Materials volume 10, pages 842–856 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Perovskite and organic photodiodes have emerged as promising candidates for ultraviolet–visible and near-infrared photodetection owing to their tunable optoelectronic properties, solution processability and potential for low-cost fabrication. This Review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements in these technologies. We focus on the characterization methodologies critical for assessing device performance, particularly specific detectivity (D*), the key metric for benchmarking photodetectors. We highlight state-of-the-art devices, identifying their architectures, materials and performance metrics, while analysing their fundamental charge recombination processes and device-level factors limiting further improvement. Finally, we discuss future research directions and technological innovations necessary to bridge the gap between laboratory-scale devices and their practical utilization in real-world applications. Our aim is to provide a roadmap for advancing the field towards next-generation high-performance and commercially viable photodiodes for ultraviolet–visible and infrared detection.

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Fig. 1: Specific detectivity evolution over the years.
Fig. 2: Ultraviolet–visible–near-infrared perovskite and organic photodiodes.
Fig. 3: Dark current limitations in photodiodes.
Fig. 4: Charge recombination mechanisms in photodiodes.

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Acknowledgements

N.G. thanks the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) under Award ORFS-2023-OFP-5544. K.V. acknowledges the European Research Council (ERC, grant agreement 864625). O.J.S. acknowledges funding from the Research Council of Finland through Project No. 357196.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Centre for Processable Electronics, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Davide Nodari, Zhuoran Qiao, Francesco Furlan & Nicola Gasparini

  2. Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Ã…bo Akademi University, Turku, Finland

    Oskar J. Sandberg

  3. Institute for Materials Research (IMO-IMOMEC), Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium

    Koen Vandewal

  4. IMEC Division, IMOMEC, Diepenbeek, Belgium

    Koen Vandewal

Authors
  1. Davide Nodari
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  2. Zhuoran Qiao
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  3. Francesco Furlan
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  4. Oskar J. Sandberg
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  5. Koen Vandewal
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  6. Nicola Gasparini
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The authors contributed equally to all aspects of the article.

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Correspondence to Nicola Gasparini.

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Supplementary information

Glossary

BCP

2,9-Dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline.

BT

Benzothiadiazole.

C60

C60(OH)n.

COTIC-4F

2,2′-((2Z,2′Z)-(((4,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-cyclopenta[2,1-b:3,4-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl)bis(4-(2-ethylhexyloxy)thiophene-5,2-diyl))bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile.

CPDT

Cyclopentadithiophene.

DPP

Diketopyrrolopyrrole.

IDIC

2,2′-((2Z,2′Z)-((4,4,9,9-tetrahexyl-4,9-dihydro-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b′]dithiophene-2,7-diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile.

IDTBR

(5Z,5′Z)-5,5′-((7,7′-(4,4,9,9-tetraoctyl-4,9-dihydro-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b′]dithiophene-2,7-diyl)bis(benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole-7,4-diyl))bis(methanylylidene))bis(3-ethyl-2-thioxothiazolidin-4-one).

IEICO-4F

2,2′-((2Z,2′Z)-(((4,4,9,9-tetrakis(4-hexylphenyl)-4,9-dihydro-sindaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b′]dithiophene-2,7-diyl)bis(4-((2-ethylhexyl)oxy)thiophene-5,2-diyl))bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1- diylidene)dimalononitrile.

IID

Isoindigo.

ITIC

3,9-Bis(2-methylene-(3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-indanone))-5,5,11,11-tetrakis(4-hexylphenyl)-dithieno[2,3-d:2′,3′-d′]-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b′]dithiophene.

L8-BO

2,2′-((2Z,2′Z)-((12,13-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,9-(2-butyloctyl)-12,13-dihydro-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-e]thieno[2″,3″:4′,5′]thieno[2′,3′:4,5]pyrrolo[3,2-g]thieno[2′,3′:4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indole-2,10-diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile.

MEH-PPV

Poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene].

MeO-2PACz

(2-(3,6-Dimethoxy-9H-carbazol-9-yl)ethyl)phosphonic acid.

NDI

Naphthalenedicarboximide.

O-FBR

5,5′-[(9,9-Dioctyl-9H-fluorene-2,7-diyl)bis(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole-7,4-diylmethylidyne)]bis[3-ethyl-2-thioxo-4-thiazolidinone].

P1

Poly[4-([2,2′-bithiophen]-5-yl)-6,7-bis(4-((2-decyltetradecyl)oxy)phenyl)-9-(thiophen-2-yl)-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-g]quinoxaline].

P3HT

Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl).

P3OT

Poly(3-octylthiophene-2,5-diyl).

PBDT-TT

Poly[4,8-bis(2-ethylhexyloxy)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-(2-octylthieno[3,4-b]thiophene)-2,5-diyl].

PC61BM

[6,6]-Phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester.

PC71BM

[6,6]-Phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester.

PDDTT

Poly[thieno[3,4-c][1,2,5]thiadiazole-2-S IV-4,6-diyl(3,3″-didecyl[2,2′:5′,2″-terthiophene]-5,5″-diyl)].

PEIE

Polyethyleneimine ethoxylated.

PM6

Poly[[4,8-bis[5-(2-ethylhexyl)-4-fluoro-2-thienyl]benzo-[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl]-2,5-thiophenediyl-[5,7-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-4,8-dioxo-4H,8H-benzo[1,2-c:4,5-c′]-dithiophene-1,3-diyl]-2,5-thiophenediyl].

PMMA

Poly(methyl methacrylate).

PNTOD

Poly(naphtho[2,1-b:3,4-b′]dithiophene-alt-thiadiazoloquinoxaline).

Poly-TPD

Poly[N,N′-bis(4-butylphenyl)-N,N′-bisphenylbenzidine].

PTAA

Poly[bis(4-phenyl)(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine].

PTB7-Th

Poly{4,8-bis[5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]-dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl)carbonyl]-thieno[3,4-b]thiophene-4,6-diyl}.

PTQ10

Poly[(thiophene)-alt-(6,7-difluoro-2-(2-hexyldecyloxy)quinoxaline)].

PVP

Polyvinylpyrrolidone.

TaTm

N4,N4,N4″,N4″-tetra([1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)-[1,1′:4′,1″-terphenyl]-4,4″-diamine.

TQ-3T

Poly[4-([2,2′:5′,2″-terthiophen]-5-yl)-6,7-bis(4-((2-decyltetradecyl)oxy)phenyl)-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-g]quinoxaline].

Y6

2,2′-((2Z,2′Z)-((12,13-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,9-diundecyl-12,13-dihydro-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-e]thieno[2″,3″:4′,5′]thieno[2′,3′:4,5]pyrrolo[3,2-g]thieno[2′,3′:4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indole-2,10-diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6-difluoro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile.

Y7

2,2′-((2Z,2′Z)-((12,13-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,9-diundecyl-12,13-dihydro-[1,2,5]thiadiazolo[3,4-e]thieno[2″,3″:4′,5′]thieno[2′,3′:4,5]pyrrolo[3,2-g]thieno[2′,3′:4,5]thieno[3,2-b]indole-2,10-diyl)bis(methanylylidene))bis(5,6-dichloro-3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indene-2,1-diylidene))dimalononitrile.

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Nodari, D., Qiao, Z., Furlan, F. et al. Towards high and reliable specific detectivity in visible and infrared perovskite and organic photodiodes. Nat Rev Mater 10, 842–856 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-025-00830-1

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