Doherty, TAS;
Winchester, AJ;
Macpherson, S;
Johnstone, DN;
Pareek, V;
Tennyson, EM;
Kosar, S;
... Stranks, SD; + view all
(2020)
Performance-limiting nanoscale trap clusters at grain junctions in halide perovskites.
Nature
, 580
pp. 360-366.
10.1038/s41586-020-2184-1.
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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 devices. This strong performance (albeit below the practical limits of about 30 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively) is surprising in thin films processed from solution at low-temperature, a method that generally produces abundant crystalline defects. Although point defects often induce only shallow electronic states in the perovskite bandgap that do not affect performance, 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 performance. The origin and distribution of these trap states are unknown, but they have been associated with light-induced halide segregation in mixed-halide perovskite compositions and with local strain, both of which make devices less stable. 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 process, 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.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Performance-limiting nanoscale trap clusters at grain junctions in halide perovskites |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41586-020-2184-1 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2184-1 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > MAPS Faculty Office UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > MAPS Faculty Office > Institute for Materials Discovery |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10094917 |
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