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Integrating second order nonlinear (χ(2)) optical materials on chip is an ongoing challenge for Si photonics. Noncentrosymmetric molecular crystals have the potential to deliver high χ(2) nonlinearity with good thermal stability, but so far have been limited to growth from solution or the melt, which are both difficult to control and scale up in manufacturing. Here, we show that large (>100 μm) single crystal domains of the nonlinear molecule 2-[3-(4-hydroxystyryl)-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-2-enylidene] malononitrile (OH1) can be grown monolithically on either glass or Si via vacuum evaporation, followed by a short thermal annealing step. The crystallites are tens of nanometer thick and exhibit strong second harmonic generation with their primary χ(2) tensor component lying predominantly in plane. Remarkably, we find that a single domain can grow uninterrupted through nearby channels etched on a Si wafer, which may provide a path to integrate OH1 on Si or Si3N4 waveguides for a broad range of χ(2)-based photonic integrated circuit functionality.

 

Metal halide perovskites show promise for next-generation light-emitting diodes, particularly in the near-infrared range, where they outperform organic and quantum-dot counterparts. However, they still fall short of costly III-V semiconductor devices, which achieve external quantum efficiencies above 30% with high brightness. Among several factors, controlling grain growth and nanoscale morphology is crucial for further enhancing device performance. This study presents a grain engineering methodology that combines solvent engineering and heterostructure construction to improve light outcoupling efficiency and defect passivation. Solvent engineering enables precise control over grain size and distribution, increasing light outcoupling to ~40%. Constructing 2D/3D heterostructures with a conjugated cation reduces defect densities and accelerates radiative recombination. The resulting near-infrared perovskite light-emitting diodes achieve a peak external quantum efficiency of 31.4% and demonstrate a maximum brightness of 929 W sr⁻¹m⁻². These findings indicate that perovskite light-emitting diodes have potential as cost-effective, high-performance near-infrared light sources for practical applications.

 

Solvents employed in the solution processing of metal halide perovskites are known to play a key role in defining the morphology and properties of the resulting thin film, and thus the performance of perovskite solar cell devices. Accurate metrics are needed that are capable of differentiating among candidates, finding solvents that adequately solubilize the various precursor species in solution and facilitate the nucleation and growth of these materials. Existing metrics such as the unsaturated Mayer bond order (UMBO) and the Gutmann donor number (DN) have been tested for lead iodide perovskite systems; but there has yet to be a comprehensive study on their transferability to lead-free perovskite solutions. We use ab initio methods (density functional theory) and regression analysis tools to study the usefulness of DN and BF 3 affinity scales in this regard. We compared the relative effectiveness of these scales to describe interactions between solvents and BX n perovskite salts of lead (Pb 2+ ), tin (Sn 2+ and Sn 4+ ), germanium (Ge 2+ ), bismuth (Bi 3+ ), and antimony (Sb 3+ and Sb 5+ ). The DN proved to be a better representation than the BF 3 of such interactions, reflecting the closer similarity of these species to the “parent” SbCl 5 Lewis acid than to BF 3 . In addition, we have uncovered the usefulness of the lithium cation affinity metric (LCA) to describe the strength of interactions between solvents and A-site cations ( e.g. Na + , K + , Rb + and Cs + ) in all-inorganic metal halide perovskite solutions. We find that the coordination strengths of solvents towards species in all-inorganic metal halide perovskite solutions are best described by two different metrics with distinct modes of action: DN differentiates among BX n salt complexes, and LCA among A-site cation species. This revelation can help guide the choice of solvent to optimize processing conditions. It also emphasizes the importance of selecting solvents whose DN and LCA optimize coordination to key Lewis acid species in all-inorganic perovskite solutions. 

2D Ruddlesden–Popper metal‐halide perovskites exhibit structural diversity due to a variety of choices of organic ligands. Incorporating bifunctional ligands in such materials is particularly intriguing since it can result in novel electronic properties and functions. However, an in‐depth understanding of the effects of bifunctional ligands on perovskite structures and, consequently, their electronic and excitonic properties, is still lacking. Here,n = 1 2D perovskites built with organic ligands containing ─CN, ─OH, ─COOH, ─phenyl (Ph), and ─CH₃functional groups are investigated using ultraviolet and inverse photoemission spectroscopies, density functional theory calculations, and tight‐binding model analyses. The experimentally determined electronic gaps of the ─CN, ─COOH, ─Ph, and ─CH₃based perovskites exhibit a strong correlation with the in‐plane Pb─I─Pb bond angle, while the ─OH based perovskite deviates from the linear trend. Based on the band structure calculations, this anomaly is attributed to the out‐of‐plane dispersion, caused predominantly by significant interlayer electronic coupling that is present in ─OH based perovskites. These results highlight the complex and diverse impacts of organic ligands on electronic properties, especially in terms of the involvement of strong interlayer electronic coupling. The impact of the bifunctional ligands on the evolution of the exciton binding energy is also addressed.