Publication date: 17th February 2025
Many efforts are being made to upscale perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and modules while retaining the characteristics of the solar cell at the lab scale. Unfortunately, the efficiency of these devices drops significantly with increasing active area1. This decline can be attributed in part to the resistance of the electrodes but also to layer inhomogeneities leading to areas of poorer efficiency and shunt paths2. One attractive way to investigate non-uniformities and their origins in mid- to large-area perovskite solar cells is through imaging techniques.
Using an in-house developed multispectral imaging setup, we took electroluminescence (EL), photoluminescence (PL), and lock-in thermography (LIT) images of carbon-based perovskite solar cells and modules produced by Solaronix SA. Steady-state and transient images show different types of inhomogeneities originating from various fabrication issues. By combining the experimental characterizations with FEM and drift-diffusion simulations, we are able to understand better the origin and nature of these defects.
In particular, we measured and modelled carbon perovskite solar cells with macroscopic defects, appearing as hotspots in LIT measurements. In contrast to the traditional dark lock-in thermography (DLIT) method, which uses a large voltage modulation, we developed a small-signal LIT imaging (SS-DLIT) technique together with a frequency and thermal-dependent FEM model which is capable of simulating these experiments. Fitting thermal AC simulations to bias voltage-dependent measured data allowed us to quantify the diode-like behaviour of the hotspots and examine their origin.
Additionally, we assess slow transient effects (from seconds to several hours) seen in the EL images of encapsulated carbon PSCs. To better understand local and temporal variations in the EL signal, we modelled the complete device stack with drift-diffusion simulations, fitting the material parameters to steady-state and impedance data and using a recombination-coupled emission model to obtain the transient EL signal. We assign the temporal turn-on dynamics to the migration of two mobile ions with different mobilities, and we clarify the effect of their distribution and local concentration on the radiative recombination.
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