Semiconductors group

Abstract:

Organohalide perovskites have emerged as promising light-sensing materials because of their superior optoelectronic properties and low-cost processing methods. Recently, perovskite-based photodetectors have successfully been demonstrated as both broadband and narrowband varieties. However, the photodetection bandwidth in perovskite-based photodetectors has so far been limited to the near-infrared regime owing to the relatively wide band gap of hybrid organohalide perovskites. In particular, short-wavelength infrared photodiodes operating beyond 1 μm have not yet been realized with organohalide perovskites. In this study, narrow band gap organic dyes are combined with hybrid perovskites to form composite films as active photoresponsive layers. Tuning the dye loading allows for optimization of the spectral response characteristics and excellent charge-carrier mobilities near 11 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , suggesting that these composites combine the light-absorbing properties or IR dyes with the outstanding charge-extraction characteristics of the perovskite. This study demonstrates the first perovskite photodiodes with deep near-infrared and short-wavelength infrared response that extends as far as 1.6 μm. All devices are solution-processed and exhibit relatively high responsivity, low dark current, and fast response at room temperature, making this approach highly attractive for next-generation light-detection techniques.

Abstract:

Entanglement of states is one of the most surprising and counter-intuitive consequences of quantum mechanics, with potent applications in cryptography and computing. In organic materials, one particularly significant manifestation is the spin-entangled triplet-pair state, which mediates the spin-conserving fission of one spin-0 singlet exciton into two spin-1 triplet excitons. Despite long theoretical and experimental exploration, the nature of the triplet-pair state and inter-triplet interactions have proved elusive. Here we use a range of organic semiconductors that undergo singlet exciton fission to reveal the photophysical properties of entangled triplet-pair states. We find that the triplet pair is bound with respect to free triplets with an energy that is largely material independent (∼30 meV). During its lifetime, the component triplets behave cooperatively as a singlet and emit light through a Herzberg-Teller-type mechanism, resulting in vibronically structured photoluminescence. In photovoltaic blends, charge transfer can occur from the bound triplet pairs with >100% photon-to-charge conversion efficiency.

Abstract:

Traps limit the photovoltaic efficiency and affect the charge transport of optoelectronic devices based on hybrid lead halide perovskites. Understanding the nature and energy scale of these trap states is therefore crucial for the development and optimization of solar cell and laser technology based on these materials. Here, the low-temperature photoluminescence of formamidinium lead triiodide (HC(NH2)2PbI3) is investigated. A power-law time dependence in the emission intensity and an additional low-energy emission peak that exhibits an anomalous relative Stokes shift are observed. Using a rate-equation model and a Monte Carlo simulation, it is revealed that both phenomena arise from an exponential trap-density tail with characteristic energy scale of ≈3 meV. Charge-carrier recombination from sites deep within the tail is found to cause emission with energy downshifted by up to several tens of meV. Hence, such phenomena may in part be responsible for open-circuit voltage losses commonly observed in these materials. In this high-quality hybrid perovskite, trap states thus predominantly comprise a continuum of energetic levels (associated with disorder) rather than discrete trap energy levels (associated, e.g., with elemental vacancies). Hybrid perovskites may therefore be viewed as classic semiconductors whose bandstructure picture is moderated by a modest degree of energetic disorder.