Deep Defect States in Wide-Band-Gap ABX3 Halide Perovskites

Igal Levine, Omar Garcia Vera, Michael Kulbak, Davide Raffaele Ceratti, Carolin Rehermann, José A. Márquez, Sergiu Levcenko, Thomas Unold, Gary Hodes, Isaac Balberg, David Cahen, Thomas Dittrich

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

58 Scopus citations

Abstract

Lead bromide-based halide perovskites are of interest for wide-band-gap (>1.75 eV) absorbers for low-cost solar spectrum splitting to boost solar-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency/area by adding them to c-Si or Cu(In,Ga)Se2 PV cells and for photoelectrochemical solar fuel synthesis. Deep in-gap electronic states in PV absorbers serve as recombination centers and are detrimental for the cell's photovoltaic performance, especially for the open-circuit voltage (Voc). We find four different deep defect states in polycrystalline layers of mixed-cation lead tribromide from high-sensitivity modulated surface photovoltage (SPV) spectroscopy. Measurements were performed with different contact configurations, on complete solar cells and on samples before and after aging or stressing at 85 °C under illumination. Three of the four states, with energies of ∼0.63, 0.73, and 1.35 eV below the conduction band edge, are assigned to intrinsic defects, whereas defect states in the middle of the band gap could be associated with (uncontrolled) impurities.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1150-1157
Number of pages8
JournalACS Energy Letters
Volume4
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 10 May 2019
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Chemical Society.

Funding

I.L. thanks the Minerva Stiftung for a short-term research grant. C.R. thanks the HyPerCells (Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells) joint Graduate School and the Helmholtz International Research School “Hybrid Integrated Systems for Conversion of Solar Energy” (HI-SCORE), an initiative cofunded by the “Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association”. In Rehovot, this work was supported by a grant from the Ullmann family foundation. We thank the reviewers for their constructive comments.

FundersFunder number
Helmholtz International Research School
Ullmann Family Foundation
Minerva Foundation
Helmholtz Association

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