Engineering & Technologyarticle2026-09-20

Programmable solar‐blind ultraviolet sensors enabling integrated single‐pixel sensing and neuromorphic processing

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Abstract

Abstract The physical segregation of sensing and processing in conventional architectures creates bottlenecks for real‐time vision, necessitating systems that mimic biological vision by first rapidly capturing images and then performing complex processing. Here, we report a multifunctional (Al 0.14 Ga 0.86 ) 2 O 3 ‐based Schottky photodiode that integrates solar‐blind ultraviolet detection and neuromorphic processing with a single device through dynamic bias control. At zero bias, the device operates as a self‐powered photodetector with ultrafast response time (3 μs rise/87 μs fall), enabling high‐speed single‐pixel ultraviolet imaging. Under negative bias, it emulates synaptic plasticity via electrically modulated persistent photoconductivity, serving as a hardware node for in‐sensor reservoir computing. This dual‐mode platform achieves noise‐robust pattern classification (90.86% accuracy under 40% noise), precise motion recognition (98.25% accuracy under 30% noise), and trajectory prediction with sub‐pixel precision (position error <0.05). By temporally decoupling high‐speed sensing from low‐power neuromorphic processing, our work establishes a scalable platform for intelligent, energy‐efficient solar‐blind vision systems in defense, environmental monitoring, and autonomous robotics. image

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Authors: Hongbin Wang, Zhuangzhuang Li, Zhongshi Ju, Cheng Zhou, Peng Li, Lizhi Ding, Jiangang Ma, Zhongqiang Wang, Ya Lin, Haiyang Xu, Yichun Liu

Institutions: Northeast Normal University