Proceedings of MATSUS Fall 2023 Conference (MATSUSFall23)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsus.2023.172
Publication date: 18th July 2023
Impedance spectroscopy (IS) and current-voltage measurement (jV) form the most useful tandem-techniques to characterise in depth interfacial processes taking place in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Among these processes, hysteresis is one of the most remarkable, due to its relationship with the instability of these devices. This phenomenon refers to a difference between forward scan (from short circuit to open circuit) and reverse scan (open circuit to short circuit) during jV measures. Normal hysteresis (NH) is considered when the reverse scan (RS) performs with better photovoltaic response. This type of behaviour has been associated with the lower-frequency capacitance in the IS spectra. However, the opposite effect is also usually found: forward scan (FS) with improved fill factor (FF) and photovoltage (Voc), known as inverted hysteresis (IH). In addition, a funny feature known as loop or inductance in some impedance spectra, is also frequently reported for perovskite devices. The capacitance versus frequency of this feature, leads to a negative capacitance (NC). We have demonstrated experimentally how both phenomena, IH and NC, are governed by the same process. Using the surface polarization model (SPM), obtaining the time constant, τkin, associated. The kinetics obtained have been associated with surface interactions involving ions/vacancies at the ESL/perovskite interface. These interactions lead to a decrease in the overall recombination resistance, modifying the low frequency perovskite response and yielding a flattening of the cyclic voltammetry. We have proved these findings in different types of perovskites (bromide and iodide) and under different treatments such as cation addition, which limits NC and thus IH. The shared origin between inverted hysteresis (IH) and negative capacitance (NC) is crucial for understanding perovskite devices. In the context of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), detecting IH and NC helps to study recombination pathways that impact photovoltage losses. In the case of emerging devices like perovskite-based memristors, the presence of both IH and NC indicates the occurrence of ionic motion required for encoding information. This presentation will show how ionic motion can be reduced to minimize photovoltage losses in PSCs, and how, instead, can be favoured to obtain high-performance memristors with outstanding endurance, allowing to uncover the underlying mechanisms through the negative capacitance analysis.