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The CHOISE team – a collaboration across 9 different institutions – is recognised for creating a new class of chiral semiconductors that unify control of spin, charge, and light within an electronically active material platform. Semiconductors underpin modern electronics through their ability to manipulate charge transport and light emission, yet they traditionally lack access to the electron’s spin degree of freedom, which is typically controlled only in magnetic materials. 

Chirality – the existence of left‑ and right‑handed molecular forms – offers a powerful symmetry‑based route to spin selectivity. By embedding chirality directly into a semiconductor material, the team established a system in which molecular handedness governs the behaviour of charge carriers and their spin.

They demonstrated this capability in a light‑emitting diode incorporating the chiral semiconductor as an active layer, where electrical injection produces circularly polarised (chiral) light. This shows that the material’s chirality imprints a preferred spin orientation on the electrons and transfers that spin information to the emitted photons at room temperature and without applying magnetic fields. 

Their work introduces chiral semiconductors as a fundamentally new paradigm for spin‑dependent optoelectronics, enabling spin control without magnetic fields or magnetic materials.

One of the greatest assets of the CHOISE team is the diversity of complementary expertise our members bring to the table. Our collective knowledge spans a broad spectrum of disciplines, from structural chemistry and electronic structure calculations to spintronics, creating a truly multidisciplinary environment.

Azim Haque

Q&A

What was your role within the team? 

Haipeng Lu: I was the first in our team to develop the initial generation of chiral metal-halide semiconductors. At the time, the work was driven largely by curiosity. Even after we observed intriguing spin-dependent charge transport phenomena, we struggled to fully understand the underlying mechanisms. It was precisely at that point that we reached out to our collaborators for insight and support. It then quickly became clear that the materials we developed have a great potential in enabling novel optoelectronic and spintronic devices.

What were the biggest challenges in this project, and how did you overcome them?

Haipeng Lu: The biggest challenge in this project has been to unravel the fundamental mechanisms behind all the unusual experimental results – particularly the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. Fortunately, our highly collaborative research team, comprising experts with diverse backgrounds in chemistry, physics, and engineering has enabled us to tackle these formidable challenges effectively.

What different strengths did different people bring to the team? 

Young-Hoon Kim: Our team brought together complementary expertise across multiple disciplines, including chemistry, materials science, spectroscopy, device physics, and engineering. Each member contributed unique strengths which allowed us to approach the problem from multiple perspectives. This multidisciplinary collaboration enabled us to achieve high-quality results across diverse research areas.

Azim Haque: One of the greatest assets of the CHOISE team is the diversity of complementary expertise our members bring to the table. Our collective knowledge spans a broad spectrum of disciplines, from structural chemistry and electronic structure calculations to spintronics, creating a truly multidisciplinary environment. The synergy between these varied skill sets ensures that every project is well supported, enabling us to push the boundaries of what we can achieve together.

Where do you see the biggest impact of this research being? 

Young-Hoon Kim: I see the greatest impact of this research in display technology and spintronics. Conventional circularly polarised light (CPL) displays typically rely on optical processes such as light scattering or birefringence, which inherently involve a trade-off between luminescence efficiency and the degree of polarisation. This fundamental limitation restricts overall device performance. In contrast, our approach generates CPL through spin-polarised charge carriers governed by spin-dependent optical selection rules. This strategy has the potential to overcome the intrinsic efficiency–polarisation trade-off in conventional CPL displays, thereby improving device performance.

Azim Haque: Chirality is fundamental to both chemistry and biological life, making it one of the most far-reaching phenomena in science. Within CHOISE, we are dedicated to understanding how chemical chirality manifests in semiconductors and how this knowledge can be harnessed to drive innovation in future microelectronics and energy applications. Beyond the applied aspects, there is also significant value in exploring the fundamental science itself, particularly in understanding how asymmetry originates at a molecular level and how it can be controlled with precision. Together, these applied and fundamental dimensions position this research to make a meaningful and lasting contribution to technological advancement and the wider scientific community.

How do you see this work developing over the next few years?

Matthew Hautzinger: Over the next few years, advances in the theory of chirality-induced spin selectivity will be critical for relating chiral structures to spin-dependent effects, informing design rules, and possibly opening new applications. At the same time, continued integration into heterostructures and optoelectronics will enhance our understanding of semiconductor–chiral interfaces and their potential for future electronics design. It’s an exciting time to be working in this area.

How important would you say collaboration is for producing high-quality science? How has collaboration influenced your work? 

Young-Hoon Kim: Collaboration is essential for producing high-quality science. In my experience, I initially obtained promising experimental data but did not have a clear framework for fully interpreting the results. If I had worked alone, it would have been difficult to explain the underlying phenomena and take the work through to publication. Collaboration with team members from diverse backgrounds in physics and chemistry provided critical insights that enabled a deeper understanding of the data. Their expertise significantly strengthened the overall quality of the research. Close collaboration with talented colleagues not only accelerates progress but also leads to more meaningful outcomes.

Matthew Hautzinger: The collaborative structure of our team is incredible and essential for producing the highest-quality research. I am a materials chemist by training, so delving into simple device physics was a challenge at first, and going even further into spin physics was an even greater challenge. Regular group presentations allow others to provide their insights – identifying interesting observations I may have missed, correcting mistakes, or at least helping to determine relevance. We have such an insightful team that really pushes and challenges the science at times producing an end result of the highest quality we can achieve.

Thinking back to earlier in your career, are there any words of wisdom that you wish someone had told you?

Haipeng Lu: It is OK to not know everything. And if you realize that others also do not know the answers (after talking to them), that is a great opportunity right there to establish yourself by filling those knowledge gaps.