All-inorganic perovskite CsPbX₃ nanocrystals (NCs) have made remarkable achievements in optoelectronic applications due to their enhanced stability, low-cost, easy-to-perform synthetic routes, broad emission spectra tunability, and high photoluminescence quantum yields, especially for light emitting diodes (LEDs) and solar cells (SCs). In this perspective, the structure and optoelectronic properties of CsPbX₃ NCs are reviewed, and the recent research progresses in LEDs and SCs are presented. Finally, a brief outlook of this field is proposed to point out some important challenges and possible solutions.

The pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique has been proved to be able to grow oxide thin films with high structural quality with precisely controlled composition and thickness to achieve designed optical and electronical properties established in alloyed semiconductors and heterostructures. In this Letter, inorganic halide perovskite CsPb(I_xCl_yBr_1−x−y)₃ epitaxial alloyed films on (001)-SrTiO₃(STO) substrates were grown by PLD. The film crystal quality, phase stability, and the epitaxial relationship between the film and substrate were characterized with a detailed x-ray diffraction technique like high-resolution reciprocal spatial mapping and ϕ-scan. In addition, the photocarrier dynamics of the alloyed epitaxial films were investigated by photophysics spectroscopy, including steady and femtosecond transient optical absorption spectroscopy and temperature-dependent and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The bandgap of the CsPbX₃ films was tuned from 1.75 to 2.98 eV by substituting X with I/Br/Cl and their mixture of different ratios. Free exciton emissions were observed at a low temperature photoluminescence spectrum (PL, 10 K), which confirmed the high crystal and optical quality of the epitaxial perovskite alloyed films except the CsPbI₃ film. The femtosecond transient absorption spectra also showed that such perovskite films are of very low concentration of exciton trap states. These results indicated that PLD is a powerful technology for growing high quality inorganic halide perovskite films with a tunable bandgap covering the full visible light range, which provided more options for CsPbX₃ based panchromatic LED and other optoelectronic devices.

In this work, we demonstrated the large-area film growth of all-inorganic perovskite CsPbBr₃ with semiconductor industry compatible radio frequency magneton sputtering technology. This approach avoids the use of toxic organic solvents, which are required extensively for the solution growth process of these perovskite films. Even on ordinary glass substrates, the CsPbBr₃ film of 100 cm² with a single phase and ultra-smooth surface can be grown under optimized sputtering conditions, among which the substrate temperature is proved very important. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence spectra and femtosecond transient absorption spectra studies show that no subband defect levels are observed in such perovskite films. The temperature-dependent resistivity measurement exhibits a typical thermally activated electrical behavior, and a bandgap of 2.24 eV is obtained, which is consistent with the optical measurements. Therefore, both the optical and electrical studies indicate that the CsPbBr₃ film with high optical quality can be grown with effective one-step sputtering technology.

Lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) has remarkable ferroelectric properties, and its unique crystal structure allows it to undergo significant spontaneous polarization. Lithium niobate plays an important role in the fields of electro-optic modulation, sensing and acoustics due to its excellent electro-optic and piezoelectric properties. Thin-film LiNbO₃ (TFLN) has attracted much attention due to its unique physical properties, stable properties and easy processing. This review introduces several main preparation methods for TFLN, including chemical vapor deposition (CVD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), pulsed laser deposition (PLD), magnetron sputtering and Smartcut technology. The development of TFLN devices, especially the recent research on sensors, memories, optical waveguides and EO modulators, is introduced. With the continuous advancement of manufacturing technology and integration technology, TFLN devices are expected to occupy a more important position in future photonic integrated circuits.

While SnF2 is reported as an effective additive for improving the efficiency of lead-free tin-based perovskite solar cells, the mechanism is still unclear and requires further studies. Upon incorporating SnF2 into MASnI3, SnF2 reduces the intrinsic carrier density from 1018 to 1012 cm–3 and produces a longer carrier diffusion length as confirmed by the Hall measurements. The femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy shows that SnF2 doping enhances the hot-phonon bottleneck effect of MASnI3. The slow cooling process of hot carriers may help to reduce non-radiative recombination, increase the fluorescence lifetime, and, therefore, improve the utilization rate of carriers. Finally, lead-free low bandgap perovskite MASnI3 is utilized as a light absorbing layer in solar cells, achieving high optical current and high voltage in tin-based perovskite solar cells. The final power conversion efficiency is 10.2%, while the power conversion efficiency for the control unit is 6.69%.

High-quality epitaxial LaMnO ₃ films have been grown on (001)-oriented LaAlO ₃ substrates at different substrate temperatures by pulsed laser deposition. The layer-by-layer growth is indicated by oscillations of reflection high-energy electron diffraction. Raman spectra together with in-plane resistivity measurements reveal that the degree of Jahn–Teller (JT) distortion can be well controlled by the substrate temperature during film deposition. The JT distortion-related/induced electron localization is studied by fitting temperature-dependent resistivity with a three-dimensional variable range hopping model. It is found that the larger JT distortion leads to a stronger localization of electrons. This study might pave the way for further study of JT interaction and highly correlated electronic states in perovskites.