Lattice Distortions Drive Electron-Hole Correlation within Micrometer-Size Lead-Iodide Perovskite Crystals

We use ultrafast transient absorption microscopy to map the effect of structural disorder on the photophysical properties within a micrometer-sized crystal of methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) perovskite. We reveal a spatial inhomogeneity of the structural and photophysical behavior on the submicrometer scale induced by a local distortion of the crystal lattice, which affects the electron hole correlation over the hundreds of nanometers length scale.