TY - JOUR
T1 - Low-Frequency Carrier Kinetics in Perovskite Solar Cells
AU - Sangwan, Vinod K.
AU - Zhu, Menghua
AU - Clark, Sarah
AU - Luck, Kyle A.
AU - Marks, Tobin J.
AU - Kanatzidis, Mercouri G.
AU - Hersam, Mark C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) of Northwestern University (NSF DMR-1720139) and the Center for Light Energy Activated Redox Processes (LEAP), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences under Award No. DESC0001059. M.Z. gratefully acknowledges the Joint Educational PhD Program of the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC). Kyle A Luck acknowledges a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. This work made use of the EPIC facility of the Northwestern University NUANCE Center, which has received support from the Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE) Resource (NSF ECCS-1542205); the MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139) at the Materials Research Center; the International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN); the Keck Foundation; and the State of Illinois.
PY - 2019/4/17
Y1 - 2019/4/17
N2 - Hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells have emerged as leading candidates for third-generation photovoltaic technology. Despite the rapid improvement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) for perovskite solar cells in recent years, the low-frequency carrier kinetics that underlie practical roadblocks such as hysteresis and degradation remain relatively poorly understood. In an effort to bridge this knowledge gap, we perform here correlated low-frequency noise (LFN) and impedance spectroscopy (IS) characterization that elucidates carrier kinetics in operating perovskite solar cells. Specifically, we focus on planar cell geometries with a SnO 2 electron transport layer and two different hole transport layers - namely, poly(triarylamine) (PTAA) and spiro-OMeTAD. PTAA and spiro-OMeTAD cells with moderate PCEs of 5-12% possess a Lorentzian feature at ∼200 Hz in LFN measurements that corresponds to a crossover from electrode to dielectric polarization. In comparison, spiro-OMeTAD cells with high PCEs (>15%) show 4 orders of magnitude lower LFN amplitude and are accompanied by a cyclostationary process. Through a systematic study of more than a dozen solar cells, we establish a correlation with noise amplitude, PCE, and fill factor. Overall, this work establishes correlated LFN and IS as an effective methodology for quantifying low-frequency carrier kinetics in perovskite solar cells, thereby providing new physical insights that can rationally guide ongoing efforts to improve device performance, reproducibility, and stability.
AB - Hybrid organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells have emerged as leading candidates for third-generation photovoltaic technology. Despite the rapid improvement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) for perovskite solar cells in recent years, the low-frequency carrier kinetics that underlie practical roadblocks such as hysteresis and degradation remain relatively poorly understood. In an effort to bridge this knowledge gap, we perform here correlated low-frequency noise (LFN) and impedance spectroscopy (IS) characterization that elucidates carrier kinetics in operating perovskite solar cells. Specifically, we focus on planar cell geometries with a SnO 2 electron transport layer and two different hole transport layers - namely, poly(triarylamine) (PTAA) and spiro-OMeTAD. PTAA and spiro-OMeTAD cells with moderate PCEs of 5-12% possess a Lorentzian feature at ∼200 Hz in LFN measurements that corresponds to a crossover from electrode to dielectric polarization. In comparison, spiro-OMeTAD cells with high PCEs (>15%) show 4 orders of magnitude lower LFN amplitude and are accompanied by a cyclostationary process. Through a systematic study of more than a dozen solar cells, we establish a correlation with noise amplitude, PCE, and fill factor. Overall, this work establishes correlated LFN and IS as an effective methodology for quantifying low-frequency carrier kinetics in perovskite solar cells, thereby providing new physical insights that can rationally guide ongoing efforts to improve device performance, reproducibility, and stability.
KW - 1/ f noise
KW - degradation
KW - hybrid perovskite solar cells
KW - impedance spectroscopy
KW - methylammonium lead iodide
KW - mobile ions
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U2 - 10.1021/acsami.9b03884
DO - 10.1021/acsami.9b03884
M3 - Article
C2 - 30896169
AN - SCOPUS:85064168824
VL - 11
SP - 14166
EP - 14174
JO - ACS applied materials & interfaces
JF - ACS applied materials & interfaces
SN - 1944-8244
IS - 15
ER -