Self-Adaptive Infrared Vision via Neural-Controlled Gain Compression in a Single Photodetector

Abstract Biological vision relies on eye-mediated gain control to adapt across lighting conditions—but remains fundamentally blind to infrared wavelengths and polarization. Here, we report a neuromorphic photodetector that not only emulates this self-adaptive functionality, but surpasses human vision by enabling dynamic gain regulation across the infrared–polarization domain. Using a gate-tunable Au/BP/PdSe₂ van der Waals heterostructure (vdWH), we achieve eye-like nonlinear gain compression via electrostatic barrier reconfiguration, which enables dynamic modulation of both the response area and responsivity. Integrated with a neural-network-based microcontroller, the system forms a device-level closed-loop that autonomously adjusts optical gain in real time. This expands the linear dynamic range (LDR) by three orders of magnitude, reaching ~ 80 dB at 1550 nm, with sub-millisecond response and intrinsic polarization sensitivity (PR ≈ 8)—all without external optics or analog circuitry. These results establish a scalable, intelligent optoelectronic platform that augments biological perception and advances chip-scale self-adaptive vision for autonomous sensing and edge photonic intelligence.