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Dunlop T, Kesteven O, De Rossi F, Davies P, Watson T, Charbonneau C. Exploring the Infiltration Features of Perovskite within Mesoporous Carbon Stack Solar Cells Using Broad Beam Ion Milling. MATERIALS 2021; 14:ma14195852. [PMID: 34640248 PMCID: PMC8510099 DOI: 10.3390/ma14195852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Carbon perovskite solar cells (C-PSCs) are a popular photovoltaic technology currently undergoing extensive development on the global research scene. Whilst their record efficiency now rivals that of silicon PV in small-scale devices, C-PSCs still require considerable development to progress to a commercial-scale product. This study is the first of its kind to use broad beam ion milling for C-PSCs. It investigates how the carbon ink, usually optimised for maximum sheet conductivity, impacts the infiltration of the perovskite into the active layers, which in turn impacts the performance of the cells. Through the use of secondary electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, infiltration defects were revealed relating to carbon flake orientation. The cross sections imaged showed between a 2% and 100% inactive area within the C-PSCs due to this carbon blocking effect. The impact of these defects on the performance of solar cells is considerable, and by better understanding these defects devices can be improved for mass manufacture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Dunlop
- SPECIFIC IKC, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Fabian Way, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK; (O.K.); (F.D.R.); (T.W.); (C.C.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Owen Kesteven
- SPECIFIC IKC, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Fabian Way, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK; (O.K.); (F.D.R.); (T.W.); (C.C.)
| | - Francesca De Rossi
- SPECIFIC IKC, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Fabian Way, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK; (O.K.); (F.D.R.); (T.W.); (C.C.)
| | - Pete Davies
- AIM, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Fabian Way, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK;
| | - Trystan Watson
- SPECIFIC IKC, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Fabian Way, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK; (O.K.); (F.D.R.); (T.W.); (C.C.)
| | - Cecile Charbonneau
- SPECIFIC IKC, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Fabian Way, Swansea SA1 8EN, UK; (O.K.); (F.D.R.); (T.W.); (C.C.)
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Liu T, Jin H, Xu L, Huang Z, Chen H, Niu M, Ding Y, Ma Y, Ding S. Transmission electron microscopy sample preparation method for micrometer-sized powder particles using focused ion beam. Micron 2021; 143:103030. [PMID: 33588317 DOI: 10.1016/j.micron.2021.103030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A TEM sample preparation technique for micrometer-sized powder particles in the 1-10 μm size range is proposed, using a focused ion beam (FIB) system. It is useful for characterizing elemental distributions across an entire cross-section of a particle. It is a simple and universal method without using any embedding agent, enabling the powder particles with different size, shape or orientation to be easily selected based on the SEM observations. The suitable particle is covered with Pt coating layers through an ion-beam-assisted deposition. The Pt coating layers provide sufficient support for the TEM lamella. A small piece of tungsten needle is used as a support under the particle by taking a series of operations using a micromanipulator. The particle can be precisely thinned by the ion beam to be suitable for both TEM observation and EDX elemental mapping. This novel technique reduces the TEM sample preparation time to a few hours, allowing much higher efficiency compared to complicated and time-consuming embedding methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tong Liu
- Vacuum Interconnected Nanotech Workstation (Nano-X), Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics (SINANO), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Hongyan Jin
- Suzhou Institute of Product Quality Supervision and Inspection, Suzhou, 215128, China
| | - Leilei Xu
- Vacuum Interconnected Nanotech Workstation (Nano-X), Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics (SINANO), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Zengli Huang
- Vacuum Interconnected Nanotech Workstation (Nano-X), Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics (SINANO), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Suzhou, 215123, China.
| | - Haijun Chen
- School of Electronic Information and Optical Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China
| | - Mutong Niu
- Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics (SINANO), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Yanli Ding
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Ltd, Shanghai, 201210, China
| | - Yao Ma
- Thermo Fisher Scientific Ltd, Shanghai, 201210, China
| | - Sunan Ding
- Vacuum Interconnected Nanotech Workstation (Nano-X), Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics (SINANO), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Suzhou, 215123, China.
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