Overview

• Michigan State University researchers report in ACS Nano that a single ultrafast laser pulse striking gold nanoparticles initiates on-demand crystal growth.
• The team demonstrated the effect in methylammonium lead halide perovskites, materials relevant to LEDs, solar cells and medical imaging.
• High-speed microscopy captured the nucleation and growth in real time, directly linking localized plasmonic heating to crystallization.
• Lead author Md Shahjahan says the method enables crystals to be formed at specific locations and times, offering a new level of patterning control.
• The work, supported by the U.S. Department of Defense, sets up next experiments using multiple laser colors, larger and more complex patterns, and device-level performance tests.