Ultra-sensitive tandem colloidal quantum-dot photodetectors

The solution-processed PbSe colloidal quantum-dot (CQD) infrared photodetector with tandem architecture is proposed to address the high dark current issue. The electrical transport mechanism in tandem has been fundamentally changed in which the recombination of carriers at an intermediate layer becomes dominant rather than carriers hopping between nearest neighbors in CQD materials. As a result, the tandem photodetector exhibits ultra-high detectivities of 4.7 × 1013 Jones and 8.1 × 1013 Jones under 34 μW cm−2 illumination at 1100 nm, at 275 K and 100 K, respectively.