The Faraday Effect and Phase Transition in the CH3NH3PbI3 Halide Perovskite Single Crystal

The spin degree of freedom of charge carriers in halide-perovskite semiconductors can be highly useful for information photonics applications. The Faraday effect is known to be the best indicator of paramagnetism of the material and of the spin-light interaction. In this work, the Faraday effect is demonstrated, for the first time, in a hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite MAPbI3 (MA+ = CH3NH3+$_3<^>+$). The Faraday rotation and birefringence are measured across the tetragonal-cubic phase transition at 327 K. The Faraday rotation is strongly suppressed below the phase transition temperature due to anisotropy (linear birefringence) of the tetragonal crystal phase. The situation changes drastically above the phase transition temperature, when the crystal becomes optically isotropic. The emerging Faraday rotation obeys the Curie law, demonstrating its population-related paramagnetic nature. This observation opens new prospects for application of these systems and for their investigations using methods of the polarization noise spectroscopy applicable to optically anisotropic materials.