Nature, Published online: 04 November 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03420-5

A film of lead sulfide — an infrared-sensitive semiconductor — has been grown directly on a circuit that can read out the material’s electrical signal through an approach called monolithic in situ integration. This brings material growth and electronic integration together into a single step. The resulting image sensor shows high sensitivity for infrared wavelengths.