Lateral and axial limitations affecting device performance of solution processed MAPbI3 perovskite cells approaching 1cm2

Timothy Jones^a, Gregory Wilson^a, Kenrick Anderson^a, Ricky Dunbar^a, Benjamin Duck^a, Nienke Firet^a^,^b, Krishna Feron^a^,^c, Shanshan Zhang^a^,^c

^aCSIRO Energy Flagship, 10 Murray Dwyer Cct, Mayfield West, NSW, Australia, 2304, Australia

^bUniversity of Twente, P.O. Box 217, Enschede, 7500 AE, Netherlands

^cUniversity of Newcastle, Center for Organic Electronics, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia, Australia

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics 2015 (HOPV15)

Roma, Italy, 2015 May 11th - 13th

Organizer: Filippo De Angelis

Poster, Gregory Wilson, 161
Publication date: 5th February 2015

There has been unprecedented interest in solar cells derived from the organo-metal halide perovskite CH₃NH₃PbI₃ light absorbing layer with power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 20.1% reported.¹ However, ‘Champion cell’ efficiencies are often derived from measurements of a very small test cell – amongst reports of the highest efficiency records to date, the illuminated area during measurement is typically between 0.05 and 0.3 cm². The impact of so-called ‘edge-effects’ on device short-circuit current density (j_sc) are prominent in test cell conditions due to the large edge:area ratio. This proves problematic when attempting to laterally scale cell performance for larger area device and module applications. Previously, through application of a procedure that utilises multiple dimension masks, we have attempted to quantify the apparent effect and estimate an ‘edge-free j_sc’ and hence improve reliability of one of the input parameters in a lateral design model using a variant of the single-diode equation. Here we evaluated lateral device performance for a ITO/PEDOT:PSS/MAPbI₃/PCBM/Ag architecture similar to that reported in the literature^2,3 and examined factors affecting lateral and axial components contributing to overall efficiency. For example, initial devices evaluated under 1-sun (AM1.5) illumination conditions for cell areas (rear-contact geometric area) in the range 0.063, 0.17, 0.41, 1.1 cm² gave j_sc = 21.8, 15.8, 11.1, 10.9 mA/cm² indicating a non-linear correlation in cell performance. Cell area used for estimate of these parameters is calculated using the area projected by the rear contact leading to an over-estimate of j_sc for cells with a large edge:area ratio. For instance, under estimate of actual cell ‘active’ area can be obtained through inaccuracy in alignment of the shadow mask with multiple layers within the device stack. Previously, in dye-sensitised solar cells,⁴ we have reported a correlation of photoactive areas derived from LBIC maps that were larger than those predicted by the projected screen printing pattern by up to 25%, which has obvious implications for efficiency derived using the above estimates. This paper will present IV-derived cell performance data together with evidence of lateral uniformity probed using light-beam induced current (LBIC) measurements, correlated to accurate determination of cell area using a novel digital imaging system and analyse factors that affect efficiency measurements of MAPbI₃ cells with an active area approaching 1cm².

1. http://www.nrel.gov/ncpv/images/efficiency_chart.jpg 2. Min, J., Zhang, Z., Hou, Y., Omar, C., Quiroz, R., Przybilla, T., Brabec, C. J.; “Interface Engineering of Perovskite Hybrid Solar Cells with Solution- Processed Perylene − Diimide Heterojunctions toward High Performance”, Chemistry of Materials 2014 doi: 10.1021/cm5037919 3. Armin, A., Hambsch, M., Wolfer, P., Jin, H., Li, J., Shi, Z., Meredith, P. “Efficient, Large Area, and Thick Junction Polymer Solar Cells with Balanced Mobilities and Low Defect Densities”, Advanced Energy Materials, 2014, doi:10.1002/aenm.201401221 4. T. Jones, K. Feron, K. Anderson, B. Duck, G. J. Wilson, “An applied light-beam induced current study of dye-sensitised solar cells: photocurrent uniformity mapping and true photoactive area evaluation”, Journal of Applied Physics, 2014, 116, 043104

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