A recent breakthrough in materials science has led to the development of a semiconductor that efficiently generates light and imparts a specific spin to it. This groundbreaking research conducted by a team at Heidelberg University’s Institute for Physical Chemistry under the direction of Prof. Dr. Felix Deschler has immense technological potential. The team has created a chiral perovskite material that could find applications in optoelectronics, telecommunications, and information processing.
Generating bright, circularly polarized light has been a long-standing goal in the field of materials science. However, achieving distinct chirality, which describes the rotation of light in a specific direction, along with high photoluminescence quantum efficiency (PLQE), has proven to be exceedingly difficult. Inorganic semiconductors exhibit high brightness but often lack light polarization. On the other hand, organic molecular semiconductors possess high polarization but suffer from limited brightness due to losses in dark conditions. A material that combines the strengths of both inorganic and organic systems has been elusive until now.
To address the challenge of combining brightness and high polarization, the research group at Heidelberg University devised a novel approach. They developed a hybrid metal-halide perovskite semiconductor with a layered structure. The key innovation involved integrating a customized chiral organic molecule into the perovskite structure. By using a small aromatic molecule with a precisely placed halogen atom in the aromatic ring, the scientists created chiral perovskites with the structural designation R/S-3BrMBA2PbI4.
The chiral 3BrMBA2PbI4 perovskites exhibited significantly better circularly polarized luminescence than other materials, even at room temperature. The distorted crystal structure of these perovskites played a crucial role in enhancing their performance. The researchers employed sophisticated ultra-fast laser spectroscopy measurements to unravel the processes underlying the generation of this special light. The resulting polarization and brightness values surpassed those of previously utilized chiral semiconductors.
The discovery of these novel materials opened up exciting possibilities for the application of circularly polarized light. The researchers successfully implemented the chiral perovskites in light detectors capable of recording and differentiating the chirality of incident light. Additionally, the team developed light-emitting diodes that could emit light from electricity. These advancements hold great promise for various fields that rely on circularly polarized light, such as optoelectronics and telecommunications.
ERC Starting Grant: “Twisted Perovskites – Control of Spin and Chirality”
The research conducted by Prof. Felix Deschler’s team was carried out as part of the ERC Starting Grant, “Twisted Perovskites – Control of Spin and Chirality in Highly-luminescent Metal-halide Perovskites.” This grant provides vital support and resources to explore new avenues in the field of perovskite materials and their applications. Prof. Deschler’s team’s breakthrough findings contribute significantly to our understanding of light generation and spin control in semiconductors.
The development of a chiral perovskite material that efficiently generates light and imparts a certain spin to it is a significant breakthrough in the field of materials science. The integration of a customized chiral organic molecule into a hybrid metal-halide perovskite semiconductor has enabled the achievement of both high brightness and polarization. The improved performance of the chiral perovskites opens up new opportunities for various applications, ranging from optoelectronics to telecommunications. The research conducted by Prof. Felix Deschler’s team at Heidelberg University marks a crucial step forward in controlling spin and chirality in highly-luminescent metal-halide perovskites.
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