Surface photovoltage spectroscopy study of organo-lead perovskite solar cells

The field of organo-lead perovskite absorbers for solar cells is developing rapidly, with open-circuit voltage of reported devices already approaching the maximal theoretical voltage. Obtaining such high voltages on spun-cast or evaporated thin films is intriguing and calls for detailed investigation of the source of photovoltage in those devices. We present here a study of the roles of the selective contacts to methylammonium lead iodide chloride (MAPbI _3-xCl_x) using surface photovoltage spectroscopy. By depositing and characterizing each layer at a time, we show that the electron-extracting interface is more than twice as effective as the hole-extracting interface in generating photovoltage, for several combinations of electrode materials. We further observe the existence of an electron-injection related spectral feature at 1.1 eV, which might bear significance for the cell's operation. Our results illustrate the usefulness of SPV spectroscopy in highlighting gaps in cells efficiency and for deepening the understanding of charge injection processes in perovskite-based photovoltaics.