Watching Ions Move: Scanning Probe Microscopy on Perovskite Solar Cells
Stefan A.L. Weber a b, Ilka Hermes a, Anders Hagfeldt c, Michael Graetzel d, Wolfgang Tress c, Rüdiger Berger b
a Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Ackermannweg, 10, Mainz, Germany
b Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
c Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
d Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces, Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, Station 6, CH-1015 Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Materials for Sustainable Development Conference (MATSUS)
Proceedings of nanoGe Fall Meeting 2018 (NFM18)
S10 Scanning Probe Microscopy for Energy Applications
Torremolinos, Spain, 2018 October 22nd - 26th
Organizers: Sascha Sadewasser and Rüdiger Berger
Invited Speaker, Stefan A.L. Weber, presentation 013
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.nfm.2018.013
Publication date: 6th July 2018

Perovskite solar cells have electrified the solar cell research community with astonishing performance and surprising material properties. Very efficient (>20 %) devices with perovskite layers of low defect density can be prepared by cheap and simple solution based processes at moderate temperatures (<150°C). For commercializing this technology, a stable and reliable operation has to be ensured. In perovskite solar cells, however, the output power is strongly influenced by the history of the device in terms of bias voltage (causing hysteresis) or illumination (known as light soaking effect). The underlying process is assumed to be the slow migration of ionic charges within the perovskite layer.

In my presentation I will demonstrate how scanning probe microscopy can help understanding these processes. Using Kelvin probe force microscopy, we were able to follow the vertical charge distribution in the active perovskite layer of an operating device. We observed the formation of a localized interfacial charge at the anode interface, which screened most of the electric field in the cell. The formation of this charge happened within 10 ms after applying a forward voltage to the device. After switching off the forward voltage, however, these interfacial charges were stable for over 500 ms and created a reverse electric field in the cell. This reverse electric field directly explains higher photocurrents during reverse bias scans by electric field-assisted charge carrier extraction. We thereby show that instead of the slow migration of mobile ions, the formation and the release of interfacial charges is the dominating factor for current-voltage hysteresis.

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