UNIST Develops a New Type of Bright Circularly Polarized Perovskite LED
- Yul So
- Feb 24
- 2 min read
Feb 24, 2026
Yul So
Researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology have introduced a new light-emitting device that could significantly improve future 3D displays and optical technologies. The team developed a perovskite-based LED that produces highly pure, circularly polarized light on its own, without the need for external polarization filters.
Circularly polarized light rotates in a single direction as it travels and is useful for applications such as 3D imaging, complicated displays, and optical communication. Filters are typically used to choose the required polarization since conventional LEDs produce unpolarized light. However, a large portion of the light is blocked by these filters, which reduces efficiency and brightness.
The UNIST team solved this difficulty by developing the light-emitting material itself. They changed the perovskite emission layer by adding two carefully selected chiral chemicals. Chiral molecules can cause direction bending within a crystal and have asymmetric structures similar to the left and right hands. The light that is released rotates in a certain direction from the beginning due to this internal twist.
Previous studies typically relied on only one type of chiral molecule, which often produced uneven structural distortion and reduced performance. In contrast, the UNIST researchers used two different molecules with complementary roles. One molecule controlled the overall twisting of the perovskite layers, while the other reduced structural defects and improved stability.
Experiments showed clear performance gains. The polarization purity was nearly three times higher than that of devices using a single chiral molecule. Light-emission efficiency increased from about 1.3 percent to nearly 7 percent, and maximum brightness more than doubled.
The researchers believe that this method offers a cost-effective and efficient alternative to existing OLED technology for circularly polarized light. The technology could be used in high-value industries like light transmission and quantum encryption, in addition to screens. With funding from the National Research Foundation of Korea, the study was published online in Advanced Functional Materials.
