Emerging Transistor Applications Enabled by Halide Perovskites

Halide perovskites have attracted considerable attention as emerging semiconductors because of their excellent optical and electronic properties, low cost, and facile processing, which enable their applications in high-efficiency energy conversion technologies. Besides photovoltaics, perovskites have been employed as active materials in a myriad of optoelectronic applications, including photodetectors, light-emitting diodes, and lasers. Recently, these materials have also been deemed to be promising candidates for multiple-function electronic applications owing to their unique combinations of merits, particularly ambipolar characteristics, high carrier mobilities, and high electroluminescence efficiencies. Notably, this burgeoning research field beyond the energy and optoelectronic domains has attracted a lot of interest and involves halide perovskites with a wide range of structures and dimensions. However, the low stability and ion-migration issues of these materials are still major challenges that need to be addressed to realize further improvements and potential commercialization. The research findings provide new insights for not only designing innovative electronics with optimal device performance but also for advancing energy-related and optoelectronic device physics. In this Account, we introduce recent advances regarding transistors based on a rich variety of halide perovskites, with an emphasis on strategies for improving device performance, and present our perspective on the opportunities associated with this emerging family of semiconducting materials. We first highlight the advantageous charge-transport characteristics of halide perovskites that make them suitable for transistor applications, along with a brief introduction of their extraordinary physical features. Thereafter, the experimental advances that have been made toward transistor applications containing various perovskites and the crucial challenges for developing high-performance devices are presented in detail. Finally, we propose strategies for overcoming the remaining challenges and developing the practically scalable perovskite transistors that are critical for competing with or complementing the established technologies. We anticipate that this Account will deepen the understanding of the properties of perovskites and the operation mechanisms of relevant transistors, and the insights will guide the future design of new electronic devices with markedly enhanced performance.