Researchers demonstrated an adaptive organic neuromorphic solar-blind ultraviolet sensor designed to monitor corona discharge along high-voltage transmission lines, according to a study published in Nature Communications. The technology addresses persistent operational vulnerabilities in conventional detectors, which struggle with insufficient sensitivity, poor stability, and weak anti-interference capabilities during grid monitoring.
Engineers fabricated the device through low-cost solution-shearing, achieving weak-light detection down to 60 nW cm⁻². Device characterization demonstrated a photosensitivity of 1.1×10⁷, a photoresponsivity of 4.6×10⁷ A W⁻¹, a specific detectivity of 2.9×10¹⁸ Jones, and an external quantum efficiency of 2.2×10⁸%. The hardware operates with a 25 ms photoresponse time, maintains strong solar-blind ultraviolet spectral selectivity, and retains favorable stability after one year of storage.
The sensor executed rapid patterning within 2 s at 100% analog recognition accuracy using an integrated sensing-storage-calculation mechanism. This neuromorphic configuration provides scotopic and photopic adaptive detection across different lighting states. During practical corona-discharge simulations, the device sustained high anti-interference performance while delivering signal classification and early-warning alerts for high-voltage infrastructure.
Academic teams in Tianjin and Changchun developed the hardware, with authors including Y. Liu, Y. Sha, X. Ma, and Deyang Ji. Participating organizations include Tianjin University's Institute of Molecular Aggregation Science, Institute of Molecular Plus, Key Laboratory of Organic Integrated Circuit, and State Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials for Intelligent Sensing, alongside the Chinese Academy of Sciences' State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry. Research funding came from the Ministry of Education of China under project JYB2025XDXM410, the National Key Research and Development Program under grant 2021YFA0717900, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grants 52273190 and 52121002, and the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin City under grant 25JCJQJC00140.
