Publication date: 1st July 2014
Converting solar energy into electricity provides a much-needed solution to the energy crisis the world is facing today. Over the last 12 months perovskite solar cells, emerging from the field of DSSC, have exhibited a rapidly rising evolution, with efficiency surpassing 15%. Moreover, in order to enhance light harvesting, the addition of core-shell nanoparticles has been investigated in several thin film devices.
The morphology of the active layer plays a key role in the understanding the working principles, and optimising the operation of thin films devices. Analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) represents a powerful tool that allows probing nanoscale morphology and crystal structure, as well as local elemental composition and spatially-resolved information on the electronic energy levels.
In this work cross sectional lamellar specimens of perovskite - based solar cells were prepared from full photovoltaic devices using a focused ion beam milling approach. The sections were analysed by high annular dark field imaging in scanning TEM mode to determine the morphology of the device and by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) to obtain compositional maps at high spatial resolution.
Spectrum images were analysed using principal component analysis and blind source separation to optimise signal-to-noise ratio, thus obtaining high quality maps while limiting the electron dose on the specimen. This novel quantification procedure also naturally separates different compounds without introducing operator bias, and is particularly effective in the presence of complex compounds, such as those developed during solution-based perovskite synthesis .
nanoGe is a prestigious brand of successful science conferences that are developed along the year in different areas of the world since 2009. Our worldwide conferences cover cutting-edge materials topics like perovskite solar cells, photovoltaics, optoelectronics, solar fuel conversion, surface science, catalysis and two-dimensional materials, among many others.
Previously nanoGe Spring Meeting (NSM) and nanoGe Fall Meeting (NFM), MATSUS is a multiple symposia conference focused on a broad set of topics of advanced materials preparation, their fundamental properties, and their applications, in fields such as renewable energy, photovoltaics, lighting, semiconductor quantum dots, 2-D materials synthesis, charge carriers dynamics, microscopy and spectroscopy semiconductors fundamentals, etc.
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV) is celebrated yearly in May. The main topics are the development, function and modeling of materials and devices for hybrid and organic solar cells. The field is now dominated by perovskite solar cells but also other hybrid technologies, as organic solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells and their integration into devices for photoelectrochemical solar fuel production.
Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics
The main topics of the Asia-Pacific International Conference on Perovskite, Organic Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics (IPEROP) are discussed every year in Asia-Pacific for gathering the recent advances in the fields of material preparation, modeling and fabrication of perovskite and hybrid and organic materials. Photovoltaic devices are analyzed from fundamental physics and materials properties to a broad set of applications. The conference also covers the developments of perovskite optoelectronics, including light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.
The International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics Perovskite Photonics and Optoelectronics (NIPHO) is the best place to hear the latest developments in perovskite solar cells as well as on recent advances in the fields of perovskite light-emitting diodes, lasers, optical devices, nanophotonics, nonlinear optical properties, colloidal nanostructures, photophysics and light-matter coupling.