Room-temperature-processed transparent hemispherical optoelectronic array for electronic eyes

Bio-inspired electronic eyes mimicking the geometry and function of natural light-sensing organs are highly attractive in next-generation miniaturized imaging systems. The processing of electronic eyes usually adopts complex and equipment-intensive techniques, involving vacuum-based materials growth, doping, deposition and patterning. Here, we report an electronic eye system with a fully transparent artificial retina by a simple solution-based method at room-temperature. The artificial retina contains a flexible 16 × 16 photodetector array, which composes of a ZnO nanoparticle-MoS₂ nanosheet composite film as the light sensing unit and the patterned silver nanowires as conductive paths within 1 cm². It shows a reliable ultra-violet response and high transparence across the visible and near-infrared range, and hence allows the artificial retina to perceive light from all directions without weakening the photo-response. Demonstrations of two kinds of electronic eye prototypes (concave and convex hemispheres) in a single device configuration show the possibility for double-sided imaging. This work provides a simple, rapid and high-throughput processing route for bio-inspired electronic eye that could be used for integration of various functional materials with different properties, which opens a new avenue for the multifunctional electronic eye devices. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd