Halide perovskites—already a focus of major research into efficient, low-cost solar cells—have been shown to handle light faster than most semiconductors on the market.

A new paper, published in Nature Nanotechnology, reports quantum transients on the scale of ~2 picoseconds at low temperature in bulk formamidinium lead iodide films grown by scalable solution or vapor methods. That ultrafast timescale indicates use in very fast light sources and other photonic components. Crucially, these effects appear in films made by scalable processing rather than specialized growth in lab settings—suggesting a practical and affordable route to explore ultrafast quantum technology.

“Perovskites continue to surprise us,” said Professor Sam Stranks, who led the study. “This discovery shows how their intriguing nanoscale structure gives rise to intrinsic quantum properties that could be harnessed for future photonic technologies.”