Single-/fused-band dual-mode mid-infrared imaging with colloidal quantum-dot triple-junctions

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 × 10¹⁰ Jones at the fused-band mode and 3.1 × 10¹¹ 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.