Penn State Scientists Develop New Device Inspired by Human Eyes to Produce High-Fidelity Images

Scientists at Penn State have developed a new device that can produce images that mimic the red, green, and blue photoreceptors and the neural network found in human eyes, drawing inspiration from nature. The scientists designed a new sensor array from narrowband perovskite photodetectors, which mimic the cone cells in the human eye, and connected it to a neuromorphic algorithm, which mimics the neural network in the retina to produce high-fidelity images. By doing so, the team has created a device that works in a similar manner to the human eye, which processes light before it is transmitted to our brain to create the colourful world that we see.

Avoiding Filter Loss and Battery-Free Operation

The technology developed by the scientists may represent a way around using filters found in modern cameras that lower resolution, increase cost, and manufacturing complexity. The scientists used perovskite materials to enable the new devices to generate power as they absorb light, potentially opening the door to battery-free camera technology. Silicon photodetectors in cameras absorb light but do not distinguish colours. The technology developed by the scientists could represent a future camera sensing technique that can help people to get a higher spatial resolution.

New Insight into Neural Networks

The scientists created thin-film perovskites with heavily unbalanced electron-hole transport, meaning the holes are moving through the material faster than the electrons. By manipulating the architecture of the unbalanced perovskites, the scientists found they could harness properties that turn the materials into narrowband photodetectors. They created a sensor array with these materials and used a projector to shine an image through the device. Information collected in the red, green, and blue layers was fed into a three-sub-layer neuromorphic algorithm for signal processing and image reconstruction. The findings could provide new insight into the importance of these neural networks to our vision. Devices based on this technology could someday replace dead or damaged cells in our eyes to restore vision, according to the scientists.