Experimental demonstration of correlated flux scaling in photoconductivity and photoluminescence of lead-halide perovskites

TL;DR

This study reveals a universal scaling behavior linking photoconductivity and photoluminescence in lead-halide perovskites, providing insights into their photophysical properties through simultaneous measurements and phenomenological modeling.

Contribution

It demonstrates a universal correlation and power-law crossover behavior in photoconductivity and photoluminescence across various lead-halide perovskite crystals, advancing understanding of their microscopic mechanisms.

Findings

Photoconductivity and photoluminescence exhibit correlated power-law behaviors.

Universal scaling behavior observed across different perovskite compositions.

Proposed phenomenological mechanisms explain the observed power exponents and crossovers.

Abstract

Lead-halide perovskites attracted attention as materials for high-efficiency solar cells and light emitting applications. Among their attributes are solution processability, high absorbance in the visible spectral range and defect tolerance, as manifested in long photocarrier lifetimes and diffusion lengths. The microscopic origin of photophysical properties of perovskites is, however, still unclear and under debate. Here, we have observed an interesting universal scaling behavior in a series of (hybrid and all-inorganic) perovskite single crystals investigated via simultaneous measurements of the Hall effect, photoconductivity and photoluminescence. A clear correlation between photoconductivity and photoluminescence as functions of the incident photon flux is observed. While photoconductivity exhibits a crossover in the power-law dependence between power exponents 1 and 1/2, photoluminescence exhibits a crossover between power exponents 2 and 3/2. This correlation is found in all the studied compounds irrespective of the cation type (organic or inorganic) or crystallographic phases. We propose phenomenological microscopic mechanisms that explain these interesting non-trivial power exponents and crossovers between them in this broad class of lead-halide perovskites.