Transparent organic upconversion devices displaying high-resolution, single-pixel, low-power infrared images perceived by human vision

Abstract

Crystalline photodiodes remain the most viable infrared sensing technology of choice, yet the opacity and the limitation in pixel size reduction per se restrict their development for supporting high-resolution in situ infrared images. In this work, we propose an all-organic non-fullerene–based upconversion device that brings invisible infrared signal into human vision via exciplex cohost light-emissive system. The device reaches an infrared-to-visible upconversion efficiency of 12.56% by resolving the 940-nm infrared signal (power density of 103.8 μW cm −2 ). We tailor a semitransparent (AVT, ~60%), large-area (10.35 cm 2 ), lightweight (22.91 g), single-pixel upconversion panel to visualize the infrared power density down to 0.75 μW cm 2 , inferring a bias-switching linear dynamic range approaching 80 dB. We also demonstrate the possibility of visualizing low-intensity infrared signals from the Face ID and LiDAR, which should fill the gap in the existing technology based on pixelated complementary metal-oxide semiconductors with optical lenses.