Perovskite Light-Emitting Diodes for Next-Generation Data Communications

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are ubiquitous in modern society. However, future applications of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) will not be limited to the fields of lighting and displays. As billions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices are already connected, the demand for data communication systems with low-cost and low-power consumption is dramatically increasing. It has been widely expected that LED-based links will act as key elements in the next-generation data communication systems¹. The conventional III-nitride micro-LEDs have the potential to provide a modulation bandwidth of several hundred MHz, however, their complex fabrication process and high manufacturing costs pose significant challenges for their integration into next-generation communication systems where the considerations on costs and compatibility are sometimes prioritized over speed in current communication scenarios.<br/><br/>Metal halide perovskites are emerging classes of semiconductors that have recently showed great potentials in the optoelectronic devices such as high-performance photovoltaics, photodetectors and LEDs². Their widely tuneable properties such as bandgap and electronic energy levels can be tailored through synthesis and composition engineering^3,4. Another distinct advantage is that these emerging materials can be solution-processed and deposited on different types of substrates under ambient conditions which are attractive for low-cost high-throughput industrial-scale fabrication. These fascinating features make metal halide perovskites promising materials for LED applications. Although prior research has progressed substantially in optimizing their external quantum efficiency for the applications in lighting and displays, the modulation characteristics of perovskite LEDs remain unclear.<br/><br/>In this talk, I will review the challenges that exist in developing practical high-speed LEDs, and highlight the most recent advance in the development of emerging LED materials—organic semiconductors, colloidal quantum dots and metal halide perovskites—for use in optical communications. I will then introduce a holistic approach that we developed most recently for realizing fast perovskite photonic sources on silicon based on tailoring alkylammonium cations in perovskite systems⁵. Under optimal conditions, we achieved device modulation bandwidths of 42.6 MHz and data rates above 50 Mbps, with further analysis suggesting that the bandwidth may exceed gigahertz levels. Finally, I will summarize the general principles that will support the future development of perovskite light sources for next-generation data-communication architectures, which might open up new possibility of integration with micro-electronics platforms.<br/><br/>References<br/>1. Aobo Ren, et al. Emerging light-emitting diodes for next-generation data communications. Nature Electronics 4, 559–572 (2021).<br/>2. Wei Zhang, et al. Metal Halide Perovskites for Energy Applications. Nature Energy 1, 16048 (2016).<br/>3. Xueping Liu, et al. Stabilization of photoactive phases for perovskite photovoltaics. Nature Reviews Chemistry 7, 462–479 (2023).<br/>4. Dongtao Liu, et al. Strain analysis and engineering in halide perovskite photovoltaics. Nature Materials 20, 1337–1346 (2021).<br/>5. Aobo Ren, et al. High-bandwidth perovskite photonic sources on silicon. Nature Photonics 17, 798–805 (2023)