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Continuous-wave nonlinear polarization control and signatures of criticality in a perovskite cavity

Nature Photonics volume 19, pages 733–739 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Halide perovskites have emerged as promising photonic materials for fundamental physics studies and technological applications. Their potential for nonlinear optics has also drawn great interest. Yet, so far, continuous-wave (CW) nonlinearities have remained elusive. Here we demonstrate CW nonlinear phenomena in a CsPbBr3 perovskite cavity. We first demonstrate optical bistability, the hallmark of single-mode coherent nonlinear optics. Next, we exploit the interplay of nonlinearity and birefringence to demonstrate nonlinear control over the polarization of light. Finally, by measuring the optical hysteresis of our cavity as a function of temperature, we find a dramatic enhancement of the nonlinearity around 65 K, which may indicate a phase transition in CsPbBr3. Our results position CsPbBr3 cavities as a suitable platform for nonlinear optics, offering strong and tuneable CW nonlinearity and birefringence. Moreover, our approach to uncover signatures of a phase transition of matter via optical hysteresis measurements is promising for exploring strongly correlated states of light–matter systems.

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Fig. 1: Tunable birefringent perovskite cavity.
Fig. 2: Polarization modes and optical bistability.
Fig. 3: Nonlinear polarization rotation and multistability.
Fig. 4: Optical hysteresis reveals signatures of a phase transition.

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Data availability

The data in this study are available via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15046017 (ref. 71).

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Trichet for providing the mirror sample with concave features. We thank N. Commandeur, R. Struik, and H.-J. Boluijt for technical support. We thank J. Theenhaus for initial experiments with CsPbBr3 crystals. This work is part of the research programme of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). S.R.K.R. acknowledges an ERC Starting Grant with project number 852694.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Nanophotonics, AMOLF, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    G. Keijsers, R. M. de Boer, B. Verdonschot, K. J. H. Peters, Z. Geng & S. R. K. Rodriguez

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  1. G. Keijsers
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  2. R. M. de Boer
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  3. B. Verdonschot
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Contributions

G.K. and R.M.d.B. performed the experiments. Z.G. and G.K. built the set-up. R.M.d.B synthesized the CsPbBr3 crystals. B.V. and K.J.H.P. developed the theoretical model. G.K. contributed to the development of the model, performed calculations and analysed all results together with S.R.K.R. S.R.K.R. conceived the project and supervised the work. S.R.K.R. and G.K. wrote the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and the manuscript.

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Correspondence to S. R. K. Rodriguez.

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Keijsers, G., de Boer, R.M., Verdonschot, B. et al. Continuous-wave nonlinear polarization control and signatures of criticality in a perovskite cavity. Nat. Photon. 19, 733–739 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-025-01692-3

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