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Perovskite solar cells: Different facets of performance

Nature Energy volume 1, Article number: 16109 (2016) Cite this article

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The electronic properties of halide perovskites vary significantly between crystalline grains, but the impact of this heterogeneity on solar cell performance is unclear. Now, this variability is shown to limit the photovoltaic properties of solar cells, and its origins are linked to differing properties between crystal facets.

Metal halide perovskites are solution-processable semiconductors with the general formula ABX3 (where A is a monovalent cation, B is a divalent metal ion and X is a halide). Many perovskites possess appealing optoelectronic properties. Cheap and easy to fabricate, solar cells made from perovskites show power conversion efficiencies that have approached those of thin-film CdTe — and even silicon — following just a few years of intensive research efforts1. This rapid advance in performance has been accompanied by an increased understanding of the physical properties that make these materials so attractive: long charge-carrier lifetimes and high charge-carrier mobilities resulting from a seemingly high tolerance to defects2–4. Nevertheless, the properties of the easily-grown perovskite thin films still lag behind those of single-crystal samples, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that these materials possess significant processing-induced heterogeneities in material quality on the micro- and nanoscale5–7. Writing in Nature Energy, Alexander Weber-Bargioni, Ian Sharp and co-workers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of California, Berkeley, and Scuba Probe Technologies LLC, find that the heterogeneity extends to the local electronic and photovoltaic properties, and limits the macroscopic photovoltaic performance8. By using high-resolution scanning probe microscopy, the researchers find that the variations in local performance correlate with the presence of different crystal facets, perhaps implying a facet-dependent density of trap states. This result emphasizes the need for further optimization of directed crystal growth and controlled surface chemistry to push the efficiencies of perovskite photovoltaics even further.

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Figure 1: Schematic of nanoscale current and voltage mapping.
Figure 2: Heterogeneity in hybrid perovskites probed optically.

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  1. Giles E. Eperon and David S. Ginger are in the Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-1700, USA.,

    Giles E. Eperon & David S. Ginger

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  1. Giles E. Eperon
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  2. David S. Ginger
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Correspondence to David S. Ginger.

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Eperon, G., Ginger, D. Perovskite solar cells: Different facets of performance. Nat Energy 1, 16109 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nenergy.2016.109

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