Consistent device simulation model describing perovskite solar cells in steady-state, transient, and frequency domain

​This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsami.9b04991

Vapor-Deposited Perovskites: The Route to High-Performance Solar Cell Production?

Summary High-quality semiconducting perovskites can be easily synthesized through several methods. The ease of fabrication has favored the adoption of lab-scale solution-processing techniques, which have yielded the highest performing devices. Most of these processes, however, are not directly applicable to larger scale and volume preparations, hindering the consolidation and market entry of this technology. Vapor-based methods, a mature technology widely adopted in the coating and semiconductor industry, could change this trend. Their application to perovskite solar cells includes a large amount of fabrication approaches, offering versatility in the employed materials as well as in the cha…

Working mechanisms of vacuum-deposited perovskite solar cells

Interfacial engineering for single and multijunction vacuum-deposited perovskite solar cells

Efficient wide band gap double cation – double halide perovskite solar cells

In this work we study the band gap variation and properties of the perovskite compound Cs0.15FA0.85Pb(BrxI1−x)3 as a function of the halide composition, with the aim of developing an efficient complementary absorber for MAPbI3 in all-perovskite tandem devices. We have found the perovskite stoichiometry Cs0.15FA0.85Pb(Br0.7I0.3)3 to be a promising candidate, thanks to its band gap of approximately 2 eV. Single junction devices using this perovskite absorber lead to a maximum PCE of 11.5%, among the highest reported for solar cells using perovskites with a band gap wider than 1.8 eV.

Recombination in Perovskite Solar Cells

Trap-assisted recombination, despite being lower as compared with traditional inorganic solar cells, is still the dominant recombination mechanism in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and limits their efficiency. We investigate the attributes of the primary trap assisted recombination channels (grain boundaries and interfaces) and their correlation to defect ions in PSCs. We achieve this by using a validated device model to fit the simulations to the experimental data of efficient vacuum-deposited p-i-n and n-i-p CH3NH3PbI3 solar cells, including the light intensity dependence of the open circuit voltage and fill factor. We find that, despite the presence of traps at interfaces and grain bounda…

Fully Evaporated High Efficiency Single Junction and Tandem Perovskite based Solar Cells.

Anionic Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes with a Bis-Tetrazolate Ancillary Ligand for Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells

none 10 si A series of monoanionic Ir(III) complexes (2-4) of general formula [Ir(C^N)2(b-trz)](TBA) are presented, where C^N indicates three different cyclometallating ligands (Hppy = 2-phenylpyridine; Hdfppy = 2-(2,4-difluoro-phenyl)pyridine; Hpqu = 2-methyl-3-phenylquinoxaline), b-trz is a bis-tetrazolate anionic N^N chelator (H2b-trz = di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)methane), and TBA = tetrabutylammonium. 2-4 are prepared in good yields by means of the reaction of the suitable b-trz bidentate ligand with the desired iridium(III) precursor. The chelating nature of the ancillary ligand, thanks to an optimized structure and geometry, improves the stability of the complexes, which have been fully char…

Electrothermal Feedback and Absorption-Induced Open-Circuit-Voltage Turnover in Solar Cells

A solar panel gets hot as it works up on the roof, yet photoinduced self-heating is often ignored when characterizing lab-sized samples. The authors present their understanding of the turnover effect in measurements of open-circuit voltage versus light intensity (Suns-${V}_{O\phantom{\rule{0}{0ex}}C}$ curves), which is identified as a unique feature of all semiconductor-based solar cells. This effect is explained in terms of electrothermal feedback arising when the incident irradiation heats up the device. The authors' model fully explains the experimental data, and allows one to determine key device parameters such as the ideality factor and the band gap from a single measurement.

Can we use time-resolved measurements to get Steady-State Transport data for Halide perovskites?

Time-resolved, pulsed excitation methods are widely used to deduce optoelectronic properties of semiconductors, including now also Halide Perovskites (HaPs), especially transport properties. However, as yet, no evaluation of their amenability and justification for the use of the results for the above-noted purposes has been reported. To check if we can learn from pulsed measurement results about steady-state phototransport properties, we show here that, although pulsed measurements can be useful to extract information on the recombination kinetics of HaPs, great care should be taken. One issue is that no changes in the material are induced during or as a result of the excitation, and anothe…

Impact of the use of sterically congested Ir(III) complexes on the performance of light-emitting electrochemical cells

International audience; The synthesis, structural and optoelectronic characterization of a family of sterically congested cyclometalated cationic Ir(iii) complexes of the form [Ir(C^N)2(dtBubpy)]PF6 (with dtBubpy = 4,4′-di-tert-butyl-2,2′-bipyridine and C^N = a cyclometalating ligand decorated at the 4-position of the pyridine ring and/or the 3-position of the phenyl ring with a range of sterically bulky substituents) are reported. This family of complexes is compared to the unsubstituted analogue complex R1 bearing 2-phenylpyridinato as cyclometalating ligand. The impact of sterically bulky substituents on the C^N ligands on both the solid state photophysics and light-emitting electrochemi…

Trap-Assisted Non-Radiative Recombination in Organic-Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells

High voltage vacuum-deposited CH3NH3PbI3-CH3NH3PbI3 tandem solar cells

The recent success of perovskite solar cells is based on two solid pillars: the rapid progress of their power conversion efficiency and their flexibility in terms of optoelectrical properties and processing methods. That versatility makes these devices ideal candidates for multi-junction photovoltaics. We report an optically optimized double junction CH3NH3PbI3–CH3NH3PbI3 tandem solar cell where the matched short-circuit current is maximized while parasitic absorption is minimized. The use of an additive vacuum-deposition protocol allows us to reproduce calculated stack designs, which comprise several charge selective materials that ensure appropriate band alignment and charge recombination…

Influence of doped charge transport layers on efficient perovskite solar cells

Planar vacuum deposited p–i–n methyl ammonium lead tri-iodide perovskite solar cells are prepared with different electron and hole transporting layers, either doped or undoped. The effect of these layers on the solar cells performance (efficiency and stability) is studied. The main benefit of using doped layers lies in the formation of barrier free charge extraction contacts to the electrodes. However, this comes at the cost of increased residual absorption (reducing the current density and efficiency of the cells) and a decreased stability. A generic solar cell structure using undoped charge extraction layers is presented, containing a thin layer of a strong electron acceptor in between th…

FAPb0.5Sn0.5I3: A Narrow Bandgap Perovskite Synthesized through Evaporation Methods for Solar Cell Applications

The tunability of the optoelectrical properties upon compositional modification is a key characteristic of metal halide perovskites. In particular, bandgaps narrower than those in conventional lead‐based perovskites are essential to achieve the theoretical efficiency limit of single‐absorber solar cells, as well as develop multijunction tandem devices. Herein, the solvent‐free vacuum deposition of a narrow bandgap perovskite based on tin-lead metal and formamidinium cation is reported. Pinhole‐free films with 1.28 eV bandgap are obtained by thermal codeposition of precursors. The optoelectrical quality of these films is demonstrated by their use in solar cells with a power conversion effici…

Ruthenium pentamethylcyclopentadienyl mesitylene dimer: a sublimable n-dopant and electron buffer layer for efficient n-i-p perovskite solar cells

Electron-transport materials such as fullerenes are widely used in perovskite solar cells to selectively transfer the photogenerated electrons to the electrodes. In order to minimize losses at the interface between the fullerene and the electrode, it is important to reduce the energy difference between the transport level of the two materials. A common approach to reduce such energy mismatch is to increase the charge carrier density in the semiconductor through doping. A variety of molecular dopants have been reported to reduce (n-dope) fullerenes. However, most of them are either difficult to process or extremely air sensitive, with most n-dopants leading to the formation of undesirable si…

Influence of mobile ions on the electroluminescence characteristics of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite diodes

In this work, we study the effect of voltage bias on the optoelectronic behavior of methylammonium lead iodide planar diodes. Upon biasing the diodes with a positive voltage, the turn-on voltage of the electroluminescence diminishes and its intensity substantially increases. This behavior is reminiscent of that observed in light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs), single-layer electroluminescent devices in which the charge injection is assisted by the accumulation of ions at the electrode interface. Because of this mechanism, performances are largely independent from the work function of the electrodes. The similarities observed between planar perovskite diodes and LECs suggest that mobi…

Quantification of spatial inhomogeneity in perovskite solar cells by hyperspectral luminescence imaging

Vacuum evaporated perovskite solar cells with a power conversion efficiency of 15% have been characterized using hyperspectral luminescence imaging. Hyperspectral luminescence imaging is a novel technique that offers spectrally resolved photoluminescence and electroluminescence maps (spatial resolution is 2 micrometer) on an absolute scale. This allows, using the generalized Planck’s law, the construction of absolute maps of the depth-averaged quasi-Fermi level splitting (Δμ), which determines the maximum achievable open circuit voltage (Voc) of the solar cells. In a similar way, using the generalized reciprocity relations the charge transfer efficiency of the cells can be obtained from the…

CCDC 1555727: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

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Impact of the Use of Sterically Congested Cyclometalated Ligands on the Optoelectronic Properties and Device Performances In Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells of Cationic Iridium(III) Complexes (dataset)