Breaking Barriers in Chalcogenide Perovskite Synthesis

Chalcogenide perovskites are emerging semiconductor materials with attractive optoelectronic properties. These materials have been shown computationally and experimentally to possess high absorption coefficient, tunable bandgap, and high dielectric constant. In contrast to their lead halide counterparts, they are known to be stable, and earth-abundant with nontoxic constituents, making them potential candidates for a variety of electronic applications.<br/>However, the existing rudimentary synthesis techniques have limited the growth of these materials. Traditional solid-state and vacuum processing methods demand temperatures in excess of 800-1000 °C, which bring about difficulties in identifying suitable substrates and subsequent device fabrication.<br/>To address these issues, we have identified the key barriers in the synthesis of these materials and succeeded in reducing the synthesis conditions to moderate temperatures (&lt;600 °C) and time periods of 1-2hrs. Our work also identifies a potential liquid flux that enables to overcome the diffusional limitations between precursors.