Light-Controlled Multiphase Structuring of Perovskite Crystal Enabled by Thermoplasmonic Metasurface

ACS Nano. 2023 May 23;17(10):9235-9244. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.3c00373. Epub 2023 Mar 28.

Abstract

Halide perovskites belong to an important family of semiconducting materials with electronic properties that enable a myriad of applications, especially in photovoltaics and optoelectronics. Their optical properties, including photoluminescence quantum yield, are affected and notably enhanced at crystal imperfections where the symmetry is broken and the density of states increases. These lattice distortions can be introduced through structural phase transitions, allowing charge gradients to appear near the interfaces between phase structures. In this work, we demonstrate controlled multiphase structuring in a single perovskite crystal. The concept uses cesium lead bromine (CsPbBr3) placed on a thermoplasmonic TiN/Si metasurface and enables single-, double-, and triple-phase structures to form on demand above room temperature. This approach promises application horizons of dynamically controlled heterostructures with distinctive electronic and enhanced optical properties.

Keywords: halide perovskite; metasurface; optical heating; phase transition; thermoplasmonics; twin domains.