Helical one-dimensional materials with organic-inorganic hybrid structure for circularly polarized light detection

Abstract

Circularly polarized light (CPL) carries diverse information, such as birefringence and stress distribution in materials, that cannot be distinguished by the human eye. In this study, we aim to achieve highly sensitive CPL detection by developing crystalline thin films with one-dimensional (1D) helical structures, created through the hybridization of organic chiral molecules and inorganic semiconductors, as well as corresponding photodetectors. For example, lead halide perovskites, through interaction with organic chiral molecules, can acquire a 1D helical structure, exhibiting an exceptionally strong circular dichroism of up to 5000 mdeg. Furthermore, by employing these 1D helical crystalline thin films as the photoactive layer, we successfully fabricated photodetectors capable of selectively detecting the handedness of CPL. This represents the first demonstration of direct CPL detection utilizing a helical structure and achieves the highest sensitivity reported for CPL photodetectors.