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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Nature

Delayed electron–hole recombination in a pseudo-direct semiconductor

  • Marcello Righetto1,2
  • Debalina Banerjee1
  • Zhenglin Jia3
  • Joshua R. S. Lilly1
  • Vincent J. -Y. Lim1
  • Snigdha Lal1
  • Siyu Yan1
  • Jae Eun Lee1
  • Jay B. Patel4
  • Michael B. Johnston1
  • Qianqian Lin3
  • Marina R. Filip1
1 more authors
  • Laura M. Herz1
4 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford, UK
  2. 2Department of Chemical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy
  3. 3Key Lab of Artificial Micro- and Nano-Structures of Ministry of Education of China, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
  4. 4Department of Physics, King’s College London, London, UK
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Abstract

Kirchhoff demonstrated the reciprocity between absorptivity and emissivity for blackbody radiation in 1860 (ref. 1), thereby establishing the general principle that a good absorber must also be a good emitter. This principle underpins the generalized Planck’s law2 and, when applied to semiconductors—in the form of the van Roosbroeck–Shockley equation3—results in substantial limitations to solar energy conversion. Here we demonstrate how this reciprocity can be circumvented in semiconductors, such as bismuth sulfide, showing a pseudo-direct bandgap character—that is, featuring a lower-energy indirect transition paired with a direct transition placed a few kBT above. After determining the pseudo-direct bandgap nature of bismuth sulfide, we reveal how this feature substantially retards bimolecular electron–hole recombination in this material with respect to classic direct semiconductors4. The resulting combination of a high absorption coefficient and delayed recombination offers the unprecedented possibility of overcoming limitations associated with Planck’s law, with far-reaching potential for solar energy conversion.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{righetto2026delayed,
  title = {{Delayed electron–hole recombination in a pseudo-direct semiconductor}},
  author = {Marcello Righetto and Debalina Banerjee and Zhenglin Jia and Joshua R. S. Lilly and Vincent J. -Y. Lim and Snigdha Lal and Siyu Yan and Jae Eun Lee and Jay B. Patel and Michael B. Johnston and Qianqian Lin and Marina R. Filip and Laura M. Herz},
  journal = {Nature},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1038/s41586-026-11223-x},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11223-x},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Delayed electron–hole recombination in a pseudo-direct semiconductor
AU  - Marcello Righetto
AU  - Debalina Banerjee
AU  - Zhenglin Jia
AU  - Joshua R. S. Lilly
AU  - Vincent J. -Y. Lim
AU  - Snigdha Lal
AU  - Siyu Yan
AU  - Jae Eun Lee
AU  - Jay B. Patel
AU  - Michael B. Johnston
AU  - Qianqian Lin
AU  - Marina R. Filip
AU  - Laura M. Herz
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/28
JO  - Nature
DO  - 10.1038/s41586-026-11223-x
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11223-x
AB  - Kirchhoff demonstrated the reciprocity between absorptivity and emissivity for blackbody radiation in 1860 (ref. 1), thereby establishing the general principle that a good absorber must also be a good emitter. This principle underpins the generalized Planck’s law2 and, when applied to semiconductors—in the form of the van Roosbroeck–Shockley equation3—results in substantial limitations to solar energy conversion. Here we demonstrate how this reciprocity can be circumvented in semiconductors, such as bismuth sulfide, showing a pseudo-direct bandgap character—that is, featuring a lower-energy indirect transition paired with a direct transition placed a few kBT above. After determining the pseudo-direct bandgap nature of bismuth sulfide, we reveal how this feature substantially retards bimolecular electron–hole recombination in this material with respect to classic direct semiconductors4. The resulting combination of a high absorption coefficient and delayed recombination offers the unprecedented possibility of overcoming limitations associated with Planck’s law, with far-reaching potential for solar energy conversion.
SN  - 0028-0836
SN  - 1476-4687
ER  -