MAPbBr3 monocrystals under electron beam radiolysis and degradation revealed by cathodoluminescence spectroscopy

Study of the local optical properties using electron beam (e-beam) can provide a valuable information concerning the inspection of the materials quality, the presence of the different phase inclusions and defects. Halide perovskites have been shown to be highly sensitive to external stress conditions like ambient atmosphere, light, and heat. In this paper, the cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy has been exploited to carry out the investigation of CH3NH3PbBr3 monocrystals under low energy electron beam irradiation. The CL spectra exhibited strong transformation with the increase of the irradiation dose and significant shifts of the peak maximums from 2.23 eV to >2.5 eV. Utilizing a larger e-beam energy (>20 keV) was found to be preferable to slow down the dynamics of the decomposition and corrosion. The mechanisms of the changes in MAPbBr3 properties after e-beam exposure and correlation to the in-depth distribution of deposited energy were discussed.