Snaith group

Abstract:

The maximum efficiency of any solar cell can be evaluated in terms of its corresponding ability to emit light. We herein determine the important figure of merit of radiative efficiency for Methylammonium Lead Iodide perovskite solar cells and, to put in context, relate it to an organic photovoltaic (OPV) model device. We evaluate the reciprocity relation between electroluminescence and photovoltaic quantum efficiency and conclude that the emission from the perovskite devices is dominated by a sharp band-to-band transition that has a radiative efficiency much higher than that of an average OPV device. As a consequence, the perovskite have the benefit of retaining an open circuit voltage ~0.14 V closer to its radiative limit than the OPV cell. Additionally, and in contrast to OPVs, we show that the photoluminescence of the perovskite solar cell is substantially quenched under short circuit conditions in accordance with how an ideal photovoltaic cell should operate.

Abstract:

The optoelectronic properties of the mixed hybrid lead halide perovskite CH3NH3PbI3-xClx have been subject to numerous recent studies related to its extraordinary capabilities as an absorber material in thin film solar cells. While the greatest part of the current research concentrates on the behavior of the perovskite at room temperature, the observed influence of phonon-coupling and excitonic effects on charge carrier dynamics suggests that low-temperature phenomena can give valuable additional insights into the underlying physics. Here, we present a temperature-dependent study of optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) emission of vapor-deposited CH3NH3PbI3-xCl x exploring the nature of recombination channels in the room- and the low-temperature phase of the material. On cooling, we identify an up-shift of the absorption onset by about 0.1 eV at about 100 K, which is likely to correspond to the known tetragonal-to-orthorhombic transition of the pure halide CH3NH3PbI3. With further decreasing temperature, a second PL emission peak emerges in addition to the peak from the room-temperature phase. The transition on heating is found to occur at about 140 K, i.e., revealing significant hysteresis in the system. While PL decay lifetimes are found to be independent of temperature above the transition, significantly accelerated recombination is observed in the low-temperature phase. Our data suggest that small inclusions of domains adopting the room-temperature phase are responsible for this behavior rather than a spontaneous increase in the intrinsic rate constants. These observations show that even sparse lower-energy sites can have a strong impact on material performance, acting as charge recombination centres that may detrimentally affect photovoltaic performance but that may also prove useful for optoelectronic applications such as lasing by enhancing population inversion. © 2014 Author(s).

Abstract:

Polystyrene spheres are used to template TiO2 with a single layer of 300 nm wells which are infilled with PbS quantum dots to form a heterojunction solar cell. The porous well device has an efficiency of 5.7% while the simple planar junction is limited to 3.2%. Using a combination of optical absorption and photocurrent transient decay measurement we determined that the performance enhancement comes from a combination of enhanced optical absorption and increased carrier lifetime.