Researchers from the EPFL in Switzerland have created the first perovskite nanowire-graphene hybrid phototransistors. Even at room temperature, the devices are highly sensitive to light, making them outstanding photodetectors.
Perovskites are known for their efficient capability of turning light into electricity, which is why they are attracting massive interest in the solar field. The scientists microengineered nanowires out of the perovskite methylammonium lead iodide, in an intricate method that was developed in 2014 and called slip-coating method. The advantage of nanowires is their consistency, while their manufacturing can be controlled to modify their architecture and explore different designs.
Making a device by depositing the perovskite nanowires onto graphene has increased the efficiency in converting light to electrical current at room temperature. According to the researchers, such a device shows almost 750,000 times higher photoresponse compared to detectors made only with perovskite nanowires. Because of this exceptionally high sensitivity, the graphene/perovskite nanowire hybrid device is considered to be a superb candidate for even a single-photon detection.