This Priority Programme focusses on the new class of hybrid organic-inorganic lead halide perovskite semiconductors, which have attracted global attention since the first reports on high efficiency perovskite solar cells in mid-2012. Within only a few years, power conversion efficiency surpassing 23 percent has been achieved. Despite rapid progress in this emerging field, it remains unclear why in particular this material class works so exceptionally well in solar cells and which underlying basic mechanisms lead to this extraordinary performance.

The main objective of this Priority Programme is to bridge the gap between the application of perovskites, mainly in solar cells, and the corresponding fundamental research on this semiconductor regarding correlations between, e.g., structural, optical, electronic, or magnetic properties. Notably, this research topic is highly interdisciplinary in nature, bridging chemistry, material science, device engineering, and physics.