In-plane stimulated emission of polycrystalline CH₃NH₃PbBr₃ perovskite thin films

Hybrid organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites have been investigated extensively within the last decades, for its great potential in efficient solar cells and as an ideal light source. Among the studies on stimulated emission (SE), the emission is either out-of-plane for polycrystalline films or in-plane with randomly aligned single microcrystals and nanowires. In this work, we revealed in-plane propagation of SE from bromine-based perovskite polycrystalline thin films (CH₃NH₃PbBr₃, or MAPbBr₃). The output from in-plane SE is an order higher than the out-of-plane emission. It is proposed that large crystalline flakes in the films lead to the in-plane lasing phenomena. The output coupling can be found at grain boundaries, intergrain gaps, and artificial structures. Simulative results support the experimental phenomenon that large crystalline grains are profitable for in-plane propagation and over 90% photons can be sufficiently outcoupled when the gap is larger than a micron. Considering the fabrication and handling convenience, we propose that the MAPbBr₃ thin films can be easily integrated for in-plane applications as the light source for photonic chips etc.