Space-confined growth of metal halide perovskite crystal films

Metal halide perovskites, as a new generation of optoelectronic materials, have attracted a great deal of interest due to their remarkable intrinsic properties. Due to the excellent optoelectronic properties, the perovskite crystals are widely used in lasers, photodetectors, X-ray detectors and solar cells. Considering the device performance and fabrication requirements, proper thickness of the crystal is required to avoid carrier loss and simultaneously ensure sufficient light absorption, which can realize the full potential of its excellent carrier transport property. Thus, the fabrication of perovskite crystal in a thin film with an adjustable thickness is highly desirable. The space-confined method has been demonstrated to be an effective way of preparing perovskite with controlled thickness. In this method, the thickness of perovskite can be regulated flexibly in a geometric confined space. Moreover, the size, quality and architecture of perovskite crystal films are also major concerns for practical photoelectric devices, which can also be optimized by the space-confined method owing to its good adaptability towards various modified strategies. In a word, the space-confined method is not only a simple and conventional way to adjust the thickness of perovskite crystal films, but also provides a platform to optimize their size, quality and architecture through applying appropriate strategies to the confined space. Herein, we review the space-confined growth of perovskite crystal films. Particularly, various modified strategies based on the space-confined method applied to the optimization of thickness, size, quality and architecture are highlighted. Then the stability investigating and component regulating of perovskite crystal films would be also mentioned. Furthermore, the correlation between the perovskite thickness and the device performance is discussed. Finally, several key challenges and proposed solutions of perovskite thin films based on the space-confined method are discussed.