In praise and in search of highly-polarizable semiconductors: Technological promise and discovery strategies

The dielectric response of materials underpins electronics and photonics. At high frequencies, dielectric polarizability sets the scale for optical density and absorption. At low frequencies, dielectric polarizability determines the band diagram of junctions and devices, and nonlinear effects enable tunable capacitors and electro-optic modulators. More complicated but no less important is the role of dielectric response in screening bound and mobile charges. These effects control defect charge capture and recombination rates, set the scale for insulator-metal transitions, and mediate interactions among charge carriers and between charge carriers and phonons. In this perspective, we motivate the discovery of highly polarizable semiconductors by highlighting their potential to improve existing and enable new optoelectronic device technologies. We then suggest discovery strategies based on solid state chemical principles and building on recent efforts in computational materials screening.