Chiral light sources are highly desirable for various applications, including displays, optical communication, bioimaging, enantiomer sensing, and optical control of quantum states. Among active media employed for thin-film emission devices, lead-halide perovskites have been extensively studied for photoluminescence due to their exceptional properties. However, up to date, there have been no demonstrations of chiral electroluminescence (EL) with a substantial degree of circular polarization (DCP).

Korean researchers (Prof. Young Chul Jun and Prof. Jin Young Kim) at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) reported a new concept of chiral light sources. This study appeared in the journal Science Advances in June 28, 2023. In this paper, chiral EL with high DCP was directly obtained from a thin-film perovskite device. A chiral cavity structure incorporating dielectric patterns inside the thin-film device was implemented. A pair of left and right circularly polarized waves propagating in the opposite directions was generated. Detailed theoretical analyses have also been conducted in collaboration with overseas theoretical groups (Prof. Yuri Kivshar at Australian National University and Dr. Maxim Gorkunov at Russian Academy of Science).

Main results: (a) Device schematic. (b) EL spectrum. (c) Comparison of EL and PL spectra for different pattern periods. Adapted from Sci. Adv. 9, eadh0414 (2023) [CC BY-NC 4.0].

[Reference] Kim S. et al., (2023) "Chiral electroluminescence from thin-film perovskite metacavities." Science Advances, 9, eadh0414.

[Main Author] Young Chul Jun (UNIST), Seongheon Kim (UNIST), Jin Young Kim (UNIST), Maxim Gorkunov (Russian Academy of Science), Yuri Kivshar (Australian National University)

* Contact email: Prof. Young Chul Jun (ycjun@unist.ac.kr)