Building the Foundation for Superradiant Perovskite Lasers

2025 is coming to an end, and with it SUPERLASER’s first reporting period – an occasion to reflect on what we have achieved so far. In its first year, SUPERLASER has built strong scientific and collaborative momentum. Following the successful kick-off meeting in Athens in September 2024 and an equally productive progress meeting in Linköping one year later, the consortium has established a solid foundation for advancing next-generation superradiant perovskite lasers. The first reporting period demonstrated both the quality and pace of the work, earning highly positive feedback from the EIC project officer. Across materials development, device engineering, theoretical modelling, and sustainability efforts, each work package has delivered meaningful early results that position the project well for the ambitious milestones ahead.

Material Prediction

Perovskites are synthetically engineered materials with a well-defined crystalline structure. To identify which compositions could offer outstanding optoelectronic properties necessary for achieving superradiance, the University of Nottingham applies machine-learning models to predict stable perovskite phases. In 2025, the team progressed towards the rapid design and discovery of new mixed halide perovskites. The thrust of the work was in establishing a hierarchical computational framework capable of efficiently mapping a vast compositional phase space, using machine learning (ML) to accelerate different stages of screening. With the machine-learning models now trained and undergoing optimisation, the team has moved into the production phase. The focus is now on screening the resultant materials to identify compositions that exhibit stable superradiance at room temperature, ready for experimental validation.

Charge-transport materials

In order to create a functional electrically pumped laser based on halide perovskites as gain medium, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in collaboration with LinXole focuses on developing the charge-transport materials that sit on both sides of the perovskite gain layer. These layers control how electrical charges (electrons and holes) are injected into the perovskite when voltage is applied. So far in 2025, the team has developed a wide range of new materials that help inject electrons and holes efficiently into perovskites. For electron transport, the team created and improved ZnO nanocrystals, lithium-doped ZnO films, and ZnO/PEIE structures that were successfully used in near-infrared perovskite LEDs. They also designed and synthesised several families of new organic materials that improve charge transport, reduce surface defects, and make interfaces smoother and more stable. On the hole-transport side, the team produced thermally stable p-type materials and new Spiro-OMeTAD derivatives and strengthened its expertise in fabricating perovskite devices using these layers. Overall, these advances provide the consortium with a toolbox of improved charge-transport materials needed for high-performance perovskite LEDs and future electrically pumped lasers.

Halide Perovskites – the heart of SUPERLASER

NCSR Demokritos is developing the foundation for a new class of superradiant lasers: halide perovskites with non-trivial topology. Their optoelectronic properties depend strongly on both composition and internal lattice structure, which in turn can be controlled through the chosen crystal-growth strategy. NCSRD generates three-dimensional modulated perovskite crystals by deliberately introducing long-range periodic variations into otherwise well-ordered lattices. This creates a structural “superlattice” in all three dimensions, which also modulates the material’s electronic properties. The design approach begins with a parent perovskite framework (typically ABX₃ or a related derivative) and introduces a controlled mismatch in lattice parameters, tilt patterns, or symmetry between two interpenetrating sublattices. When combined along specific crystallographic directions, these produce a fully three-dimensional modulation pattern. The overarching goal is to use the 3D superlattice to control where and how light is emitted inside a single perovskite crystal. While NCSR Demokritos focuses on lead-based halide perovskites, INAM UJI works on a non-toxic alternative: perovskites based on tin. During the current year, the INAM-UJI team synthesised single crystals of MAPbI₃, FAPbI₃, and MASnI₃ using inverse temperature crystallization, optimising the conditions to obtain 2 to 3 mm crystals. Their crystal quality was assessed via single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In parallel, single-crystalline thin films of MAPbBr₃ and Rb-doped MAFAPbI₃ were fabricated, with thicknesses of 30 and 20 µm, respectively. These films were characterised by powder X-ray diffraction to confirm their crystalline phase and by optical techniques (absorption and emission) to determine the bandgap. This work establishes the foundation for the future implementation of these materials in devices.

Measuring Superradiance

To establish the experimental proof that the materials and device concepts developed in SUPERLASER truly achieve the key physical phenomenon the project is built around, superradiance, Linköping University develops the testing methods needed to reliably measure superradiant behaviour. In 2025, the team laid the groundwork for reliably detecting superradiance by building both the theoretical and experimental tools needed to study ultrafast processes in perovskites. They developed a transient absorption (TA) measurement approach tailored to this new class of materials, set up a TA system that works at both room and cryogenic temperatures, and added transmittance and reflection detection paths for more complete data. They also created methods to correct measurement artefacts caused by changes in the refractive index during excitation, an essential step for obtaining trustworthy signals. Finally, they performed first test measurements on perovskite thin films, demonstrating that the system is ready for detailed studies of superradiant behaviour.

Electrically Pumped Perovskite Lasers: Device Fabrication

Once the other partners develop the required materials for this new type of laser, imec takes on the task of assembling these components into a functional device. In the first year, the team established the foundation for perovskite laser diodes by fostering a close collaboration between Linköping University and imec, supported by continuous exchanges across the consortium. This cooperation brings together complementary strengths in materials knowledge and device fabrication. Early results include the identification of efficient emitter materials and diode architectures capable of delivering high external quantum efficiency at ultra-high current densities, even at room temperature. Targeted optimisation made the devices faster and allowed nanosecond current pulses. The team also developed a planar resonator that integrates smoothly with high-performance perovskite LEDs. These achievements provide a strong starting point for progressing toward the project’s overall goals.

Towards a Circular Economy

SUPERLASER aims to reduce e-waste and environmental impact by developing recycling and reuse protocols, minimising the use of critical materials, and optimising fabrication methods to lower energy consumption and waste. This includes conducting life cycle assessments (LCAs), designing cleaner processing routes, and enabling the recovery and reuse of toxic lead within perovskites. INAM UJI has already taken important initial steps: the monitoring of material hazards and criticality across all partners, the coordination of data collection needed to build comprehensive material and process inventories, and the launch of the first LCA focused on single halide perovskite crystals. These activities establish the foundation for ensuring that SUPERLASER technologies are developed with sustainability and resource responsibility at their core.