Advances in Nanoparticle-Based Fabrication Techniques for Infrared Detectors: A Comprehensive Review

The field of infrared (IR) photodetection is undergoing rapid development through the emergence of solution-processable nanoparticle (NP)-based materials and fabrication strategies. This review critically examines recent advances in fabrication approaches for NP-based IR detectors, emphasizing the relationship between synthesis, surface engineering, deposition processes, and device architecture in determining detector performance. Representative material platforms are discussed, including colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) such as PbS and HgTe, which enable tunable operation from the near-infrared (NIR) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) to selected mid-wave (MWIR), long-wave (LWIR), and emerging very-long-wave infrared (VLWIR) regimes depending on material composition and operating conditions. Further platforms including plasmonic metal NPs, black phosphorus, and topological nanomaterials are evaluated for their unique mechanisms of optical enhancement and broadband response. Fabrication approaches including continuous-flow synthesis, ligand exchange, blade coating, inkjet printing, electrophoretic deposition, and other scalable solution-processing methods are analyzed with respect to their influence on film quality, charge transport, interface engineering, and integration compatibility. The review further compares major device architectures, including photoconductors, photodiodes, plasmonic absorbers, and phototransistors, using key performance metrics such as specific detectivity (D*), responsivity (R), response speed, and operating temperature, while emphasizing the importance of measurement conditions in cross-platform comparisons. Critical challenges including dark-current generation, 1/f noise, transport limitations associated with ligand chemistry, environmental instability of narrow-bandgap materials, manufacturability constraints, and toxicity considerations are also discussed. Emerging directions such as neuromorphic sensing, CMOS-compatible integration, and sustainable lead-free nanomaterials are highlighted. By linking nanoscale material design and fabrication processes to device-level performance, this review provides a framework for advancing NP-based IR technologies toward scalable and application-relevant sensing systems.