PERovskite SEmiconductors for PHOtoNics

Project Information

PERSEPHONe

Grant agreement ID: 956270

DOI

10.3030/956270

Project closed

EC signature date 25 August 2020

Start date 1 March 2021

End date 31 August 2025

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 3 794 254,56

EU contribution

€ 3 794 254,56

Coordinated by

FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PERSEPHONe (PERovskite SEmiconductors for PHOtoNics)

Reporting period: 2023-03-01 to 2025-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The EU-funded PERSEPHONe project aims to train a new generation of early-stage researchers (ESRs) in the emerging area of photonics. It is a joint research training and doctoral programme, implemented by a partnership of highly ranked universities, research institutions and industrial research partners spread over 6 different countries. The project will involve 14 Early Stage Researchers, who have been selected to develop a novel technological platform for photonics based on an emerging class of semiconductors, metal-halide perovskites, with exceptional optical and electrical properties. Importantly, PERSEPHONe want to engineer them in order to provide a large set of functionalities whose integration could lead to important improvement to Silicon photonics, Silicon
(Oxy)Nitride and other established technological platforms The goal is to make this novel technology commercially viable in several different sectors from medical diagnostics to environmental monitoring, telecommunications and robotics.
Thanks to the PERSEPHONE training network, early stage researchers will be exposed to a wide spectrum of expertise, materials synthesis; photonic (and optoelectronic) devices and integrated circuits fabrication; characterization and modeling, upscaling and manufacturing. Each fellow will learn how to deal with complex problems, acquiring broad competences and becoming highly adaptable. They got are aware of their skills and attitudes and have spent them efficiently in both corporate and academic environments. The key to success of such Programme is the multidisciplinarity and inter-sectoriality of the network, which allowed the young researchers to genuinely discover their attitude while having an impact on a relevant scientific and technological field.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

PERSEPHONE laid the groundwork for perovskite-based photonic technologies through three main pillars: material development, device fabrication, and system integration. Passivation and synthetic strategies were developed to stabilize lead and tin-based 2D and 3D perovskites, as well as lead-free semiconductors. Their optoelectronic mechanisms were investigated to guide material design and enhance stability. Various processing methods were validated, and the resulting materials were implemented in advanced photonic devices optimized for performance, stability, and integration. These devices were further combined into complex photonic structures, demonstrating the strong potential of metal halide semiconductors to surpass existing photonic technologies.

PERSEPHONE's achievement lies in the ability of early-stage researchers and their teams to merge expertise from different scientific domains. Among the key scientific outcomes, the project has shown that substituting lead with tin enables perovskites to effectively cover the near-infrared spectrum and that perovskite processing can be integrated with established SiN photonics. This breakthrough paves the way for NIR active photonic devices in integrated circuits, addressing a major technological gap. These promising results are being leveraged in proposals for the Pathfinder Open Call (Near Infrared Integrated and Customized Light Sources) and a Marie Curie Doctoral Network on tailored perovskite emitters for integrated photonics.

Beyond scientific results, PERSEPHONe has had a profound training impact. The ESRs developed a strong set of technical, analytical, and transferable skills, positioning them as qualified scientists within the European semiconductor and photonics sectors. The network’s collaborative structure maximized access to shared resources and fostered extensive interactions. Through targeted training, secondments, and interdisciplinary exposure, ESRs have gained both scientific depth and professional maturity, aligning with the principles of the European Charter for Researchers. Overall, PERSEPHONe made a lasting contribution to advancing research and talent development in photonics and semiconductor science. Overall, to quantify such impact we can mention that all ESR got or are planning (in case of late hiring or 4-years program) to discuss their PhD, and most of them have already moved on successfully in their new careers step both in academia and high-tech industry.

In addition, the ESRs actively disseminated the results of PERSEPHONe to both the scientific community and the public. Collectively, they presented their work at 23 international conferences and 7 specialized workshops, and published 26 peer-reviewed journal articles, highlighting the strong scientific productivity and visibility of the network. ESRs also engaged in outreach activities aimed at the wider public, including hands-on activities with primary and high school students, raising awareness and interest in photonics and materials science. These activities reflect the project’s commitment to open science, knowledge transfer, and societal engagement alongside its research and training objectives.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

PERSEPHONe’s approach is a market driven research strategy. Here we summarize the significant advancements beyond the state-of-the-art. We have achieved stable, high-quality 2D lead-free perovskite semiconductors showing lasing, thanks to our progress on shedding light on the defects photochemistry and activity in 2D perovskites. We have developed new synthetic strategies to stabilize perovskite nanocrystals and their optoelectronic properties when passing from a colloidal solution to solid state thin films. Then we have demonstrated the possibility of tuning 2D perovskites bandgap by chemical doping and controlled design of the host/guest system. Till the end of the project we expect to consolidate our understanding of the photo-physical and electronic processes in perovskite semiconductors at high excitation regimes, to demonstrate stable LEDs with high color purity within the entire visible spectrum, to deliver the first proof of concept of an electrically pumped laser. PERSEPHONe will expand the market interest towards perovskites for application in light sensing as well developing lead free photodetectors. The network will demonstrate the feasibility of industrial scale up of synthetic procedures and device fabrication. Eventually, it reached the development of micro LEDs, quantum emitters and semiconductor optical amplifiers compatible with well-established integrated photonic technologies and the development of perovskite-based PICs for programmable photonics applications including actuators and detectors.
Overall, it is well accepted how broad is the range of photonic applications in the everyday life (ICT, lighting, industrial manufacturing, life science, safety, just to mention some) and PERSEPHONe is expanding them. In fact, the development of materials where single functionalities can be customized will widen the functionalities and potential of existing photonic technologies. Then, it is worth to mention here that one of the major challenge, at the moment, for the photonics industry is scarcity of talents, i.e. a difficult transition between academic world and industry and vice-versa, as reported by a recent report of the European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC). PERSEPHONe has been extremely successful so far to rise awareness in ESRs about the importance of a collaborative work between academic and industrial institutions, which is expected to make the technology advance more quickly towards the lab to market transition.

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