Transforming Near-Infrared Photodetectors with Perovskites: Materials, Strategies, and Future Outlook

Photodetectors, capable of transforming optical stimuli to electrical signals, have experienced unprecedented growth in their development recently due to rapidly growing demand in sensing, imaging, and communication. Particularly, near-infrared (NIR) photodetectors garnered much attention for decades for their sophisticated applications, including advanced imaging of energy dissipation, solar spectrum monitoring, biomedical imaging, optical communication, environmental monitoring, augmented reality, etc. In an effort to obtain better photodetector performance in the NIR region, various inorganic material platforms have been explored, spanning traditional inorganic semiconductors exemplified by silicon, germanium, III–V materials, low-dimensional materials, polymers, and their heterostructures. Although conventional inorganic photodetectors are well-known for their high sensitivity and fast response times, they are often discouraged by high fabrication costs, rigid device structures, and poor industrial scalability. Fortunately, recent progress of perovskite materials in various optoelectronics validates the outstanding properties of perovskites, including adjustable bandgaps, strong light absorption, large exciton binding energy, and compatibility with flexible substrates. These properties of perovskite materials lay a solid foundation for low-cost, high-performance, and scalable NIR photodetectors. This review offers a comprehensive roadmap of the recent development of NIR photodetectors, which examines the advancements in inorganic-, polymer-, and perovskite-based devices. The review analyzes several engineering strategies in tailoring device performance metrics and fabrication methods while addressing methods tackling challenges in maintaining stability and scalability and mitigating environmental impact. Additionally, this work specifically highlights recent innovations in perovskite photoactive layers such as multiple quantum wells (MQWs) and perovskite heterostructures. Finally, it outlines future research orientations and manufacturing opportunities of perovskite materials for next-generation NIR photodetectors, foreshadowing a paradigm shift in optoelectronic applications.