Pulsed Laser Deposition of Cs2AgBiBr6: from Mechanochemically Synthesized Powders to Dry, Single-Step Deposition

Cs2AgBiBr6 has been proposed as a promising lead-free and stable double perovskite alternative to hybrid and lead-based perovskites. However, the low solubility of precursors during wet synthesis, or the distinct volatility of components during evaporation, results in complex multistep synthesis approaches, hampering the widespread employment of Cs2AgBiBr6 films. Here, we present pulsed laser deposition of Cs2AgBiBr6 films as a dry, single-step and single-source deposition approach for high-quality film formation. Cs2AgBiBr6 powders were prepared by mechanochemical synthesis and pressed into a solid target maintaining phase purity. Controlled laser ablation of the double perovskite target in vacuum and a substrate temperature of 200 °C results in the formation of highly crystalline Cs2AgBiBr6 films. We discuss the importance of deposition pressure to achieve stoichiometric transfer and of substrate temperature during PLD growth to obtain high-quality Cs2AgBiBr6 films with grain sizes > 200 nm. This work demonstrates the potential of PLD, an established technique in the semiconductor industry, to deposit complex halide perovskite materials while being compatible with optoelectronic device fabrication, such as UV and X-ray detectors.