Infrared detection and imaging are key enabling technologies for a vast number of applications, ranging from communication, to medicine and astronomy, and have recently attracted interest for their potential application in optical interconnects and quantum computing. Nonetheless, infrared detection still constitutes the performance bottleneck for several of these applications, due to a number of unsolved challenges, such as limited quantum efficiency, yield and scalability of the devices, as well as limited sensitivity and low operating temperatures. The current commercially dominating technologies are based on planar semiconducting PIN or avalanche detectors. However, recent developments in semiconductor technology and nano-scale materials have enabled significant technological advancement, demonstrating the potential for groundbreaking achievements in the field. We review the recent progress in the most prominent novel detection technologies, and evaluate their advantages, limitations, and prospects. We further offer a perspective on the main fundamental limits on the detectors sensitivity, and we discuss the technological challenges that need to be addressed for significative advancement of the field. Finally, we present a set of potential system-wide strategies, including nanoscale and low-dimensional detectors, light coupling enhancement strategies, advanced read-out circuitry, neuromorphic and curved image sensors, aimed at improving the overall imagers performance.

中文翻译：

---

红外成像仪的最新进展：迈向光子灵敏度的热力学和量子极限

红外探测和成像是通信、医学和天文学等众多应用的关键使能技术，并且最近因其在光学互连和量子计算中的潜在应用而引起了人们的兴趣。尽管如此，由于许多未解决的挑战，例如有限的量子效率、设备的产量和可扩展性，以及有限的灵敏度和低工作温度，红外检测仍然构成其中一些应用的性能瓶颈。目前商业上占主导地位的技术基于平面半导体 PIN 或雪崩探测器。然而，半导体技术和纳米级材料的最新发展实现了重大的技术进步，展示了该领域取得突破性成就的潜力。我们回顾了最突出的新型检测技术的最新进展，并评估了它们的优点、局限性和前景。我们进一步提供了关于探测器灵敏度的主要基本限制的观点，并讨论了该领域取得重大进展需要解决的技术挑战。最后，我们提出了一套潜在的全系统策略，包括纳米级和低维探测器、光耦合增强策略、先进的读出电路、神经形态和曲面图像传感器，旨在提高成像仪的整体性能。