Mid-wavelength infrared photoconductive film synthesized from PbSe molecular ink.

This article focuses on the development of mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR, 3–5 μm) photoconductive films fabricated from a lead selenide (PbSe) molecular ink synthesized via a diphenyl dichalcogenide route in ethylenediamine solvent. The resulting PbSe films, after sensitization annealing involving oxidation and iodization, exhibit high specific detectivity (~3 × 10^9 Jones at room temperature) and responsivity (6.97 A/W at 3.5 μm), comparable to commercial detectors, without requiring cryogenic cooling. The study highlights the unique phase composition and microstructure of these films, which contribute to photoconductive gain and device performance, and suggests that this solution-based approach offers a promising pathway toward low-cost, high-throughput manufacturing of MWIR sensors compatible with silicon CMOS technology.