Exploring the TMA2SnI4/GaN Band Alignment and Carrier Transfer Across the Interface

Ewelina Zdanowicz^a, Łukasz Przypis^b, Wiktor Żuraw^b, Miłosz Grodzicki^a^,^c, Dominika Majchrzak^c, Henryk Turski^d, Czesław Skierbiszewski^d, Robert Kudrawiec^a, Artur Herman^a

^aDepartment of Semiconductor Materials Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, Wrocław 50-370, Poland

^bSaule Research Institute, Duńska 11, 54-427, Wrocław, Poland

^cŁukasiewicz Research Network - PORT Polish Center for Technology Development, Wrocław 54-066, Poland

^dInstitute of High-Pressure Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sokołowska 29/37, 01-142 Warszawa, Poland

Materials for Sustainable Development Conference (MATSUS)
Proceedings of MATSUS Fall 2023 Conference (MATSUSFall23)

#MHPN3 - Fundamental Advances in Metal Halide Perovskites and Beyond: new materials, new mechanisms, and new challenges

Torremolinos, Spain, 2023 October 16th - 20th

Organizers: Paola Vivo, Qiong Wang and Kaifeng Wu

Poster, Ewelina Zdanowicz, 344
Publication date: 18th July 2023

The urgent need to develop environmentally friendly metal halide perovskite materials arose when solar cells based on lead-containing hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites achieved power conversion efficiencies comparable to traditional inorganic semiconductors, marking their path towards full-scale commercialization. In the pursuit of substituting lead with less toxic elements, researchers turned their attention to tin, leading to the emergence of tin-halide perovskites like CH₃NH₃SnI₃ (MASnI₃) and HC(NH₂)₂SnI₃ (FASnI₃) as promising candidates for sustainable photovoltaics in the future. However, a significant drawback was encountered due to the facile oxidation of Sn(II) to Sn(IV), which placed limitations on its practical applications within devices. An encouraging solution to overcome this hurdle materialized with the introduction of layered perovskites. These materials feature large organic cations inserted between three-dimensional inorganic layers, resulting in improved stability against temperature and humidity, thus offering a potential avenue for advancing the field of sustainable photovoltaics.

In addition, the significance of interface-related phenomena is currently extensively studied [1], and the chase of higher efficiency figures is primarily propelled by the enhancement of functional layers to facilitate optimal carrier transport across these interfaces.

In this work we investigate a novel, self-synthesized 2D tin halide perovskite - TMA2SnI₄, where TMA=2-thiophenemethylammonium, deposited on GaN substrate. By means of contactless electroreflectance spectroscopy, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and photoluminescence we probed the perovskite/GaN interface in order to assess the band alignment and charge carrier transfer across it. With the implemented approach utilizing a distinctive GaN substrate structure, we successfully conducted a non-invasive investigation into the impact of perovskite on GaN surface states. These studies enabled us to determine the relative band alignment at the studied interface and to conclude about carrier transfer across it.

References:

[1] P. Schulz, D. Cahen, and A. Kahn. “Halide Perovskites: Is It All about the Interfaces?” Chemical Reviews 119:5, 2019, pp. 3349–3417

Acknowledgements:

This work was supported by the National Science Centre (NCN) in Poland through PRELUDIUM grant no. 2022/45/N/ST3/03465 and through OPUS grant no. 2019/33/B/ST3/03021.

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