Performance-limiting nanoscale trap clusters at grain junctions in halide perovskites

Tiarnan A. S. Doherty, Andrew J. Winchester, Stuart Macpherson, Duncan N. Johnstone, Vivek Pareek, Elizabeth M. Tennyson, Sofiia Kosar, Felix U. Kosasih, Miguel Anaya, Mojtaba Abdi-Jalebi, Zahra Andaji-Garmaroudi, E Laine Wong, Julien Madéo, Yu-Hsien Chiang, Ji-Sang Park, Young-Kwang Jung, Christopher E. Petoukhoff, Giorgio Divitini, Michael K. L. Man, Caterina Ducati, Aron Walsh, Paul A. Midgley, Keshav M. Dani () and Samuel D. Stranks ()
Additional contact information
Tiarnan A. S. Doherty: University of Cambridge
Andrew J. Winchester: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Stuart Macpherson: University of Cambridge
Duncan N. Johnstone: University of Cambridge
Vivek Pareek: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Elizabeth M. Tennyson: University of Cambridge
Sofiia Kosar: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Felix U. Kosasih: University of Cambridge
Miguel Anaya: University of Cambridge
Mojtaba Abdi-Jalebi: University of Cambridge
Zahra Andaji-Garmaroudi: University of Cambridge
E Laine Wong: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Julien Madéo: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Yu-Hsien Chiang: University of Cambridge
Ji-Sang Park: Imperial College London
Young-Kwang Jung: Yonsei University
Christopher E. Petoukhoff: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Giorgio Divitini: University of Cambridge
Michael K. L. Man: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Caterina Ducati: University of Cambridge
Aron Walsh: Imperial College London
Paul A. Midgley: University of Cambridge
Keshav M. Dani: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Samuel D. Stranks: University of Cambridge

Nature, 2020, vol. 580, issue 7803, 360-366

Abstract: Abstract Halide perovskite materials have promising performance characteristics for low-cost optoelectronic applications. Photovoltaic devices fabricated from perovskite absorbers have reached power conversion efficiencies above 25 per cent in single-junction devices and 28 per cent in tandem devices1,2. This strong performance (albeit below the practical limits of about 30 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively3) is surprising in thin films processed from solution at low-temperature, a method that generally produces abundant crystalline defects4. Although point defects often induce only shallow electronic states in the perovskite bandgap that do not affect performance5, perovskite devices still have many states deep within the bandgap that trap charge carriers and cause them to recombine non-radiatively. These deep trap states thus induce local variations in photoluminescence and limit the device performance6. The origin and distribution of these trap states are unknown, but they have been associated with light-induced halide segregation in mixed-halide perovskite compositions7 and with local strain8, both of which make devices less stable9. Here we use photoemission electron microscopy to image the trap distribution in state-of-the-art halide perovskite films. Instead of a relatively uniform distribution within regions of poor photoluminescence efficiency, we observe discrete, nanoscale trap clusters. By correlating microscopy measurements with scanning electron analytical techniques, we find that these trap clusters appear at the interfaces between crystallographically and compositionally distinct entities. Finally, by generating time-resolved photoemission sequences of the photo-excited carrier trapping process10,11, we reveal a hole-trapping character with the kinetics limited by diffusion of holes to the local trap clusters. Our approach shows that managing structure and composition on the nanoscale will be essential for optimal performance of halide perovskite devices.

Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2184-1 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:580:y:2020:i:7803:d:10.1038_s41586-020-2184-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2184-1

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().