Abstract
Low-temperature solution-processed materials that show optical gain and can be embedded into a wide range of cavity resonators are attractive for the realization of on-chip coherent light sources. Organic semiconductors and colloidal quantum dots are considered the main candidates for this application. However, stumbling blocks in organic lasing(1-4) include intrinsic losses from bimolecular annihilation and the conflicting requirements of high charge carrier mobility and large stimulated emission; whereas challenges pertaining to Auger losses and charge transport in quantum dots(5-7) still remain. Herein, we reveal that solution-processed organic-inorganic halide perovskites (CH3NH3PbX3 where X = Cl, Br, I), which demonstrated huge potential in photovoltaics(8-11), also have promising optical gain. Their ultra-stable amplified spontaneous emission at strikingly low thresholds stems from their large absorption coeffcients, ultralow bulk defect densities and slow Auger recombination. Straightforward visible spectral tunability (390-790 nm) is demonstrated. Importantly, in view of their balanced ambipolar charge transport characteristics(8), these materials may show electrically driven lasing.