Optical detector and method for manufacturing the same

Abstract

An optical detector ( 110 ) is disclosed. The optical detector ( 110 ) comprises: an optical sensor ( 112 ), having a substrate ( 116 ) and at least one photosensitive layer setup ( 118 ) disposed thereon, the photosensitive layer setup ( 118 ) having at least one first electrode ( 120 ), at least one second electrode ( 130 ) and at least one photovoltaic material ( 140 ) sandwiched in between the first electrode ( 120 ) and the second electrode ( 130 ), wherein the photovoltaic material ( 140 ) comprises at least one organic material, wherein the first electrode ( 120 ) comprises a plurality of first electrode stripes ( 124 ) and wherein the second electrode ( 130 ) comprises a plurality of second electrode stripes ( 134 ), wherein the first electrode stripes ( 124 ) and the second electrode stripes ( 134 ) intersect such that a matrix ( 142 ) of pixels ( 144 ) is formed at intersections of the first electrode stripes ( 124 ) and the second electrode stripes ( 134 ); and at least one readout device ( 114 ), the readout device ( 114 ) comprising a plurality of electrical measurement devices ( 154 ) being connected to the second electrode stripes ( 134 ) and a switching device ( 160 ) for subsequently connecting the first electrode stripes ( 124 ) to the electrical measurement devices ( 154 ).

1 . An optical detector, comprising:
 an optical sensor, comprising a substrate and at least one photosensitive layer setup disposed thereon, the photosensitive layer setup comprising at least one first electrode, at least one second electrode and at least one photovoltaic material sandwiched in between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the photovoltaic material comprises at least one organic material, wherein the first electrode comprises a plurality of first electrode stripes and wherein the second electrode comprises a plurality of second electrode stripes, wherein the first electrode stripes and the second electrode stripes intersect such that a matrix of pixels is formed at intersections of the first electrode stripes and the second electrode stripes; and   at least one readout device, the readout device comprising a plurality of electrical measurement devices connected to the second electrode stripes and a switching device for subsequently connecting the first electrode stripes to the electrical measurement devices.   
     
     
         2 . The optical detector according to  claim 1 , wherein the matrix of pixels comprises rows defined by the first electrode stripes and columns defined by the second electrode stripes, wherein each electrical measurement device is connected to a column, such that electrical signals for the pixels of each row are measured simultaneously, wherein the switching device is configured to subsequently connect the rows to the electrical measurement devices. 
     
     
         3 . The optical detector according to  claim 1 , wherein the electrical measurement devices are analogue measurement devices, wherein the electrical measurement devices further comprise analogue-digital converters. 
     
     
         4 . The optical detector according to  claim 1 , wherein the readout device further comprises at least one data memory for storing measurement values for the pixels of the matrix of pixels. 
     
     
         5 . The optical detector according to  claim 1 , wherein one of the first electrode and the second electrode is a bottom electrode and wherein the other of the first electrode and the second electrode is a top electrode, wherein the bottom electrode is applied to the substrate, wherein the photovoltaic material is applied to the bottom electrode and at least partially covers the bottom electrode and wherein the top electrode is applied to the photovoltaic material. 
     
     
         6 . The optical detector according to  claim 5 , wherein the top electrode comprises a plurality of metal electrode stripes, wherein the metal electrode stripes are separated by electrically insulating separators. 
     
     
         7 . The optical detector according to  claim 6 , wherein the optical sensor comprises an n-semiconducting metal oxide, wherein the electrically insulating separators are deposited on top of the n-semiconducting metal oxide. 
     
     
         8 . The optical detector according to  claim 7 , wherein the optical sensor further comprises at least one solid p-semiconducting organic material deposited on top of the n-semiconducting metal oxide, the solid p-semiconducting organic material being sub-divided into a plurality of stripe-shaped regions by the electrically insulating separators. 
     
     
         9 . The optical detector according to  claim 5 , wherein the top electrode is transparent. 
     
     
         10 . The optical detector according to  claim 9 , wherein the top electrode comprises at least one metal layer. 
     
     
         11 . The optical detector according to  claim 10 , wherein the top electrode further comprises at least one electrically conductive polymer embedded in between the photovoltaic material and the metal layer. 
     
     
         12 . The optical detector according to  claim 1 , comprising a stack of at least two imaging devices, wherein at least one of the imaging devices is the optical sensor. 
     
     
         13 . The optical detector according to  claim 12 , wherein the stack further comprises at least one additional imaging device. 
     
     
         14 . The optical detector according to  claim 12 , wherein the stack comprises at least two imaging devices having different spectral sensitivities. 
     
     
         15 . A detector system for determining a position of at least one object, the detector system comprising at least one optical detector according to  claim 1 , and at least one beacon device configured to direct at least one light beam towards the optical detector, wherein the beacon device is at least one of a device attachable to the object, a device holdable by the object and a device integratable into the object. 
     
     
         16 . A human-machine interface for exchanging at least one item of information between a user and a machine, the human-machine interface comprising at least one detector system according to  claim 15 , wherein the at least one beacon device is configured to be at least one of directly or indirectly attached to the user and held by the user, wherein the human-machine interface is designed to determine at least one position of the user via the detector system, wherein the human-machine interface is designed to assign to the position at least one item of information. 
     
     
         17 . An entertainment device for carrying out at least one entertainment function, the entertainment device comprising at least one human-machine interface according to  claim 16 , wherein the entertainment device is designed to enable at least one item of information to be input by a player via the human-machine interface, wherein the entertainment device is designed to vary the entertainment function in accordance with the information. 
     
     
         18 . A tracking system for tracking a position of at least one movable object, the tracking system comprising at least one detector system according to  claim 15 , and at least one track controller, wherein the track controller is configured to track a series of positions of the object at specific points in time. 
     
     
         19 . A camera for imaging at least one object, the camera comprising at least one optical detector according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         20 . A method for manufacturing an optical detector, the method comprising:
 a) manufacturing an optical sensor, wherein a photosensitive layer setup is deposited onto a substrate, the photosensitive layer setup comprising at least one first electrode, at least one second electrode and at least one photovoltaic material sandwiched in between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the photovoltaic material comprises at least one organic material, wherein the first electrode comprises a plurality of first electrode stripes and wherein the second electrode comprises a plurality of second electrode stripes, wherein the first electrode stripes and the second electrode stripes intersect such that a matrix of pixels is formed at intersections of the first electrode stripes and the second electrode stripes; and   b) connecting at least one readout device to the optical sensor, the readout device comprising a plurality of electrical measurement devices connected to the second electrode stripes, and at least one switching device for subsequently connecting the first electrode stripes to the electrical measurement devices.   
     
     
         21 . The method according to  claim 20 , wherein the manufacturing a) comprises:
 a1) depositing at least one bottom electrode onto the substrate, wherein the bottom electrode is one of the first electrode or second electrode, wherein the bottom electrode comprises a plurality of bottom electrode stripes;   a2) depositing the at least one photovoltaic material onto the bottom electrode; and   a3) depositing at least one top electrode onto the photovoltaic material, wherein the top electrode is the other one of the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the top electrode comprises a plurality of top electrode stripes, wherein the top electrode stripes are deposited such that the bottom electrode stripes and the top electrode stripes intersect such that the matrix of pixels is formed.   
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 21 , wherein the depositing a3) comprises one or more of the following:
 depositing the top electrode onto the photovoltaic material in a patterned way;   depositing the top electrode onto the photovoltaic material in an unpatterned way, followed by at least one patterning step; and   providing at least one separator on one or more of the substrate or the photovoltaic material, followed by an unpatterned deposition of the top electrode, wherein the top electrode is sub-divided into the top electrode stripes by the separator.   
     
     
         23 . A method of taking at least one image of an object via the optical detector according to  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 imaging the object onto the optical sensor,   subsequently connecting the first electrode stripes to the electrical measurement devices, wherein the electrical measurement devices, for each first electrode stripe, measure electrical signals for the pixels of the respective first electrode stripe, and   composing the electrical signals of the pixels to form an image.   
     
     
         24 . The optical detector according to  claim 1 , suitable for a position measurement in traffic technology; an entertainment application; a security application; a safety application; a human-machine interface application; a tracking application; a photography application; or an application in combination with at least one time-of-flight detector. 
     
     
         25 . The optical detector according to  claim 7 , wherein the n-semiconducting metal oxide is a nano-porous n-semiconducting metal oxide. 
     
     
         26 . The method according to  claim 22 , wherein the depositing a3) comprises depositing the top electrode onto the photovoltaic material in a patterned way by using a deposition through a shadow mask. 
     
     
         27 . The method according to  claim 22 , wherein the depositing a3) comprises depositing the top electrode onto the photovoltaic material in a patterned way by using a printing technique.