Detection of circularly polarized light (CPL) has a high potential for development of various optical technologies. Conventional photodetectors require optical polarizers on the device to detect polarized light, and this causes substantial losses of sensitivity and resolution in light detection. Here, we report direct CPL detection by a photodiode using a helical one-dimensional (1D) structure of lead halide perovskites composed of naphthylethylamine-based chiral organic cations. The 1D structure with face-sharing (PbI6)4− octahedral chains whose helicity is largely affected by chiral cations shows intense circular dichroism (CD) signals over 3000 mdeg at 395 nm with the highly anisotropy factor (gCD) of 0.04. This high CD enables photocurrent detection with effective discrimination between left-handed and right-handed CPLs. The CPL detector based on this 1D perovskite achieved the highest polarization discrimination ratio of 25.4, which largely surpasses the direct detecting CPL devices (<4) using chiral plasmonic metamaterials and organic materials.

CsPbI2Br perovskite solar cells have attracted much attention because of the rapid development in their efficiency and their great potential as a top cell of tandem solar cells. However, the V OC outputs observed so far in most cases are far from that desired for a top cell. Up to now, with various kinds of treatments, the reported champion V OC is only 1.32 V, with a V OC deficit of 0.60 V. In this work, we found that aging of the SnCl2 precursor solution for the electron-transporting layer can promote the V OC of CsPbI2Br solar cells by employing a dopant-free-polymer hole transport material (HTM) over 1.40 V and efficiency over 15.5% with high reproducibility. With the champion V OC of 1.43 V, the V OC deficit was reduced to <0.50 V, which is achieved for the first time. This simple technique of SnCl2 solution aging forms a uniform and smooth amorphous SnO x film with pure Sn4+, elevates the conduction band of SnO x , and reduces the interfacial gaps and the trap state density of the device, resulting in enhancement in average V OC from ∼1.2 V in the nonaged case to ∼1.4 V in the aged case. Furthermore, the device using an aged SnCl2 solution also exhibits a much better long-term stability than that made of the fresh solution. These achievements in dopant/additive-free CsPbI2Br solar cells can be useful for future research on CsPbI2Br and tandem solar cells.

Among atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is attracting considerable attention because of its direct bandgap in the 2H-semiconducting phase. On the other hand, a 1T-metallic phase has been revealed, bringing complementary application. Recently, thanks to top-down fabrication using electron beam (EB) irradiation techniques, in-plane 1T-metal/2H-semiconductor lateral (Schottky) MoS2 junctions were demonstrated, opening a path toward the co-integration of active and passive two-dimensional devices. Here, we report the first transport measurements evidencing the formation of a MoS2 Schottky barrier (SB) junction with barrier height of 0.13-0.18 eV created at the interface between EB-irradiated (1T)/nonirradiated (2H) regions. Our experimental findings, supported by state-of-the-art simulation, reveal unique device fingerprint of SB-based field-effect transistors made from atom-thin 1T layers.

To abate the issue of moisture-assisted phase transition of CsPbI 2 Br, caused by hygroscopic dopants used in the hole-transporting material (HTM), developing dopant-free HTMs is necessary. In this work, a new polymer, PDTDT, is developed as a dopant-free HTM for CsPbI 2 Br solar cells, and the device performance and stability are systematically compared with cells employing dopant-free P3HT. CsPbI 2 Br solar cells using PDTDT show an efficiency of 17.36% with V OC of 1.42 V and FF of 81.29%, which is one of the highest values for CsPbI 2 Br cells. Moreover, a record-high efficiency of 34.20% with V OC of 1.14 V under 200 lux indoor light illumination and efficiency of 14.54% (certified efficiency of 13.86%) for a 1 cm 2 device under one sun are accomplished. Importantly, PDTDT shows superior/comparable device stability to P3HT, promising its potential to be an alternative to popular doped Spiro-OMeTAD and P3HT HTM.