中文版本

Opportunity 

Current imaging systems and photodetectors face significant limitations in flexibility, transparency, and adaptability to curved surfaces, which restricts their application in bio-inspired electronic eyes, wearable devices, and advanced robotics. Traditional photodetectors are typically rigid and opaque, making them unsuitable for applications requiring conformal attachment to curved or flexible substrates, such as artificial retinas or adaptive optical systems. Additionally, existing UV photodetectors often suffer from slow response times, low sensitivity, and poor mechanical stability under deformation. These challenges hinder the development of high-performance, flexible optoelectronic systems capable of mimicking natural visual systems or enabling novel applications in portable and autonomous technologies.  

To address these gaps, this patent introduces a flexible, transparent photodetector array that can be mounted on curved surfaces, offering dual-sided imaging capabilities and enhanced optoelectronic performance through innovative material integration.  

Technology

The patent discloses a photodetector comprising a flexible substrate (e.g., polyvinyl alcohol, PVA) embedded with an array of photodetector units made of a ZnO-MoS₂ composite. Key innovations include:  

1. Flexible Design: The use of a soft PVA substrate enables bending and conformal attachment to curved surfaces (e.g., hemispherical domes), mimicking the human retina.  
2. Transparent Circuitry: Silver nanowires form optically transparent electrodes, allowing light penetration from both sides for dual-sided imaging.  
3. High-Performance Photodetector Units: The ZnO-MoS₂ composite leverages a built-in p-n junction to enhance charge separation under UV light, achieving a fast response time (100 ms) and high responsivity (15.2 A/W at 20 V bias).  
4. Scalable Fabrication: The device is fabricated via room-temperature spray-coating and transfer printing, enabling large-scale production.  

The system integrates these photodetectors into an optoelectronic "electronic eye" with a dome-shaped support structure, multiplexers for signal processing, and a controller (e.g., Arduino Nano) to sequentially scan pixels for image reconstruction.  

Advantages

• Mechanical Flexibility: Bendable without performance loss, suitable for curved surfaces.  
• High Transparency: >85% transmittance in visible light (450–900 nm), enabling dual-sided imaging.  
• Enhanced Optoelectronic Performance:  
  • High responsivity (3.7 A/W at 5 V bias) and detectivity (>10¹¹ Jones).  
  • Fast response/recovery times (100 ms/250 ms).  
  • Linear response to UV light intensity (0.1–2 mW/cm²).  
• Bio-Inspired Applications: Mimics both mammalian (concave) and insect (convex) eye structures in one device.  
• Self-Powering Potential: Can be integrated with solar cells for portable systems.  

Application

• Biomedical Devices: Artificial retinas, visual prosthetics.  
• Autonomous Systems: Robotics vision, UAVs, augmented/virtual reality.  
• Fault Detection: UV imaging for corona discharge in power systems.  
• Wearable Electronics: Flexible sensors for health monitoring.  
• Energy-Efficient Imaging: Solar-cell-integrated self-powered cameras.