4D-Printed Hydrogel Actuators through Diffusion-Path Architecture Design

Recently, smart hydrogels have garnered considerable attention as biomedical devices, and several approaches have been introduced for their fabrication, including the incorporation of stimulus-responsive additives, utilization of molecular imprinting techniques, and application of multilayered hydrogels. However, the nonuniform properties resulting from these approaches limit the practical applications of hydrogels by causing inconsistent performance and behavior. In this study, we propose a novel approach to manipulating the swelling kinetics of hydrogels by engineering their diffusion-path architecture. By simply adjusting the diffusion path length within the hydrogel, we achieved a significant change in swelling kinetics. This approach enables precise control over the diffusion and transport processes within the hydrogel, resulting in enhanced swelling kinetics when reducing the diffusion path length. Furthermore, by strategically designing the diffusion-path architecture of a 3D-printed hydrogel specimen, we can fabricate smart hydrogel actuators that exhibit reversible shape transformations during swelling and deswelling through a nonequilibrium differential swelling. The proposed approach eliminates the need to modify the spatial properties of hydrogel structures such as cross-linking density, polymer, or additive compositions, thereby achieving uniform properties throughout the hydrogel and creating new possibilities for the development of advanced 4D-printed biomedical devices.

Scanning Photocurrent Microscopy in Single Crystal Multidimensional Hybrid Lead Bromide Perovskites

We investigated solution-grown single crystals of multidimensional 2D-3D hybrid lead bromide perovskites using spatially resolved photocurrent and photoluminescence. Scanning photocurrent microscopy (SPCM) measurements where the electrodes consisted of a dip probe contact and a back contact. The crystals revealed significant differences between 3D and multidimensional 2D-3D perovskites under biased detection, not only in terms of photocarrier decay length values but also in the spatial dynamics across the crystal. In general, the photocurrent maps indicate that the closer the border proximity, the shorter the effective decay length, thus suggesting a determinant role of the border recombination centers in monocrystalline samples. In this case, multidimensional 2D-3D perovskites exhibited a simple fitting model consisting of a single exponential, while 3D perovskites demonstrated two distinct charge carrier migration dynamics within the crystal: fast and slow. Although the first one matches that of the 2D-3D perovskite, the long decay of the 3D sample exhibits a value two orders of magnitude larger. This difference could be attributed to the presence of interlayer screening and a larger exciton binding energy of the multidimensional 2D-3D perovskites with respect to their 3D counterparts.

Growth kinetics and substrate stability during high-temperature molecular beam epitaxy of AlN nanowires

We study the molecular beam epitaxy of AlN nanowires between 950 °C and 1215 °C, well above the usual growth temperatures, to identify optimal growth conditions. The nanowires are grown by self-assembly on TiN(111) films sputtered onto Al2O3. Above 1100 °C, the TiN film is seen to undergo grain growth and its surface exhibits {111} facets where AlN nucleation preferentially occurs. Modeling of the nanowire elongation rate measured at different temperatures shows that the Al adatom diffusion length maximizes at 1150 °C, which appears to be the optimum growth temperature. However, analysis of the nanowire luminescence shows a steep increase in the deep-level signal already above 1050 °C, associated with O incorporation from the Al2O3substrate. Comparison with AlN nanowires grown on Si, MgO and SiC substrates suggests that heavy doping of Si and O by interdiffusion from the TiN/substrate interface increases the nanowire internal quantum efficiency, presumably due to the formation of a SiNxor AlOxpassivation shell. The outdiffusion of Si and O would also cause the formation of the inversion domains observed in the nanowires. It follows that for optoelectronic and piezoelectric applications, optimal AlN nanowire ensembles should be prepared at 1150 °C on TiN/SiC substrates and will require anex situsurface passivation.

Acquisition Parameters Influence Diffusion Metrics Effectiveness in Probing Prostate Tumor and Age-Related Microstructure

This study aimed to investigate the Diffusion-Tensor-Imaging (DTI) potential in the detection of microstructural changes in prostate cancer (PCa) in relation to the diffusion weight (b-value) and the associated diffusion length l_D. Thirty-two patients (age range = 50-87 years) with biopsy-proven PCa underwent Diffusion-Weighted-Imaging (DWI) at 3T, using single non-zero b-value or groups of b-values up to b = 2500 s/mm². The DTI maps (mean-diffusivity, MD; fractional-anisotropy, FA; axial and radial diffusivity, D// and D┴), visual quality, and the association between DTI-metrics and Gleason Score (GS) and DTI-metrics and age were discussed in relation to diffusion compartments probed by water molecules at different b-values. DTI-metrics differentiated benign from PCa tissue (p ≤ 0.0005), with the best discriminative power versus GS at b-values ≥ 1500 s/mm², and for b-values range 0-2000 s/mm², when the l_D is comparable to the size of the epithelial compartment. The strongest linear correlations between MD, D//, D┴, and GS were found at b = 2000 s/mm² and for the range 0-2000 s/mm². A positive correlation between DTI parameters and age was found in benign tissue. In conclusion, the use of the b-value range 0-2000 s/mm² and b-value = 2000 s/mm² improves the contrast and discriminative power of DTI with respect to PCa. The sensitivity of DTI parameters to age-related microstructural changes is worth consideration.

Single-Crystal Perovskite Solar Cells Exhibit Close to Half A Millimeter Electron-Diffusion Length

Single-crystal halide perovskites exhibit photogenerated-carriers of high mobility and long lifetime, making them excellent candidates for applications demanding thick semiconductors, such as ionizing radiation detectors, nuclear batteries, and concentrated photovoltaics. However, charge collection depreciates with increasing thickness; therefore, tens to hundreds of volts of external bias is required to extract charges from a thick perovskite layer, leading to a considerable amount of dark current and fast degradation of perovskite absorbers. However, extending the carrier-diffusion length can mitigate many of the anticipated issues preventing the practical utilization of perovskites in the abovementioned applications. Here, single-crystal perovskite solar cells that are up to 400 times thicker than state-of-the-art perovskite polycrystalline films are fabricated, yet retain high charge-collection efficiency in the absence of an external bias. Cells with thicknesses of 110, 214, and 290 µm display power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 20.0, 18.4, and 14.7%, respectively. The remarkable persistence of high PCEs, despite the increase in thickness, is a result of a long electron-diffusion length in those cells, which was estimated, from the thickness-dependent short-circuit current, to be ≈0.45 mm under 1 sun illumination. These results pave the way for adapting perovskite devices to optoelectronic applications in which a thick active layer is essential.

In Operando, Photovoltaic, and Microscopic Evaluation of Recombination Centers in Halide Perovskite-Based Solar Cells

The origin of the low densities of electrically active defects in Pb halide perovskite (HaP), a crucial factor for their use in photovoltaics, light emission, and radiation detection, remains a matter of discussion, in part because of the difficulty in determining these densities. Here, we present a powerful approach to assess the defect densities, based on electric field mapping in working HaP-based solar cells. The minority carrier diffusion lengths were deduced from the electric field profile, measured by electron beam-induced current (EBIC). The EBIC method was used earlier to get the first direct evidence for the n-i-p junction structure, at the heart of efficient HaP-based PV cells, and later by us and others for further HaP studies. This manuscript includes EBIC results on illuminated cell cross sections (in operando) at several light intensities to compare optoelectronic characteristics of different cells made by different groups in several laboratories. We then apply a simple, effective single-level defect model that allows deriving the densities (N_r) of the defect acting as recombination center. We find N_r ≈ 1 × 10¹³ cm^-3 for mixed A cation lead bromide-based HaP films and ∼1 × 10¹⁴ cm^-3 for MAPbBr₃(Cl). As EBIC photocurrents are similar at the grain bulk and boundaries, we suggest that the defects are at the interfaces with selective contacts rather than in the HaP film. These results are relevant for photovoltaic devices as the EBIC responses distinguish clearly between high- and low-efficiency devices. The most efficient devices have n-i-p structures with a close-to-intrinsic HaP film, and the selective contacts then dictate the electric field strength throughout the HaP absorber.

Modeling of the electron beam induced current signal in nanowires with an axial p-n junction

A tridimensional mathematical model to calculate the electron beam induced current (EBIC) of an axial p-n nanowire junction is proposed. The effect of the electron beam and junction parameters on the distribution of charge carriers and on the collected EBIC current is reported. We demonstrate that the diffusion of charge carriers within the wire is strongly influenced by the electrical state of its lateral surface which is characterized by a parameter called surface recombination velocity (v_r). When the surface recombination is weak (i.e. lowv_rvalue), the diffusion of charge carriers occurs in one dimension (1D) along the wire axis, and, in this case, the use of bulk EBIC models to extract the diffusion length (L) of charge carriers is justified. However, when the surface effects are strong (i.e. highv_rvalues), the diffusion happens in three dimensions (3D). In this case, the EBIC profiles depend onv_rvalue and two distinct cases can be defined. If theLis larger than the nanowire radius (r_a), the EBIC profiles show a strong dependency with this parameter. This gives evidence that the recombination of generated carriers on the surface throughv_ris the dominant process. In this situation, a decrease of two orders of magnitude in the EBIC profiles computed with a high and a lowv_rvalue is observed in neutral regions of the junction. For the case ofLsmaller thanr_athe dependency of the EBIC profiles on thev_ris weak, and the prevalent recombination mechanism is the bulk recombination process.

Enhancing Carrier Diffusion Length and Quantum Efficiency through Photoinduced Charge Transfer in Layered Graphene-Semiconducting Quantum Dot Devices

Hybrid devices consisting of graphene or transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) were widely studied for potential photodetector and photovoltaic applications, while for photodetector applications, high internal quantum efficiency (IQE) is required for photovoltaic applications and enhanced carrier diffusion length is also desirable. Here, we reported the electrical measurements on hybrid field-effect optoelectronic devices consisting of compact QD monolayer at controlled separations from single-layer graphene, and the structure is characterized by high IQE and large enhancement of minority carrier diffusion length. While the IQE ranges from 10.2% to 18.2% depending on QD-graphene separation, d_s, the carrier diffusion length, L_D, estimated from scanning photocurrent microscopy (SPCM) measurements, could be enhanced by a factor of 5-8 as compared to that of pristine graphene. IQE and L_D could be tuned by varying back gate voltage and controlling the extent of charge separation from the proximal QD layer due to photoexcitation. The obtained IQE values were remarkably high, considering that only a single QD layer was used, and the parameters could be further enhanced in such devices significantly by stacking multiple layers of QDs. Our results could have significant implications for utilizing these hybrid devices as photodetectors and active photovoltaic materials with high efficiency.

Determining In-Plane Carrier Diffusion in Two-Dimensional Perovskite Using Local Time-Resolved Photoluminescence

The diffusion length of photogenerated carriers is a crucial parameter in semiconductors for optoelectronic applications. However, it is a challenging task to determine the diffusion length in layered nanoplatelets due to their anisotropic diffusion of photogenerated carriers and nanometer-thin thickness. Here, we demonstrate a novel method to determine the in-plane diffusion length of photogenerated carriers in layered nanoplatelets using local time-resolved photoluminescence. Also, the in-plane carrier diffusion length of 1.82 μm is obtained for an exfoliated (BA)₂PbI₄ (BA = CH₃(CH₂)₃NH₃) perovskite nanoplatelet. This method is particularly useful for weak luminescent materials and the materials that are easily damaged by long-term laser beam because of the high detection sensitivity. This technique is extendable to other layered materials and therefore plays a valuable role in the development and optimization of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) semiconductor materials and devices for photovoltaic and photonic applications.

Cesium Lead Bromide Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Field-Effect Transistors

Solution-processable perovskite quantum dots are considered as promising optical materials for light-emitting optoelectronics. Light-emitting field-effect transistors (LEFETs) that can be operated under a relatively lower potential with a high energy conversion efficiency are yet to be realized with perovskite quantum dots. Here, we present the CsPbBr₃ quantum dot-based LEFET. Surprisingly, unipolar transport characteristics with strong electroluminescence were observed at the interface of the CsPbBr₃ QD-LEFET along with an exceptionally wide recombination zone of 80 μm, an order of magnitude larger than that of organic/polymer LEFETs. Based on the systematic analysis for the electroluminescence of the CsPbBr₃ NC-LEFET, we revealed that the increased diffusion length determined by the majority carrier mobility and the lifetime well explains the remarkably wide recombination zone. Furthermore, it was found that the energy-level matching and transport geometry of the heterostructure also determine the charge distribution and recombination, substantially affecting the performance of the CsPbBr₃ QD LEFET.

Designing Photocatalytic Nanostructured Antibacterial Surfaces: Why Is Black Silica Better than Black Silicon?

The efficiency of photocatalytic antibacterial surfaces is limited by the absorption of light in it. Light absorption in photocatalytic surfaces can be enhanced by structuring it, leading to increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and hence improved bactericidal efficacy. A second, more passive methodology to kill bacteria involves the use of sharp nanostructures that mechanically disrupt the bacterial membrane. Recently, these two mechanisms were combined to form photoactive nanostructured surfaces with better antibacterial efficacy. However, the design rules for fabricating the optimal photoactive nanostructured surfaces have not been articulated. Here we show that for optimal performance it is very important to account for optoelectrical properties and geometry of the photoactive coating and the underlying pillar. We show that TiO₂-coated nanopillars arrays made of SiO₂, a material with a low extinction coefficient, have 73% higher bactericidal efficacies than those made of Si, a material with a high extinction coefficient. The finite element method (FEM) shows that despite the higher absorption in higher aspect ratio nanopillars, their performance is not always better. The concentration of bulk ROS saturates around 5 μm. For taller pillars, the improvement in surface ROS concentration is minimal due to the diffusion bottleneck. Simulation results corroborate with the experimentally observed methylene blue degradation and bacterial count measurements and provide an explanation of the observed phenomenon. The guidelines for designing these optically activated photocatalyst nanopillars can be extended to other photocatalytic material after adjusting for their respective properties.

Improving Charge Collection from Colloidal Quantum Dot Photovoltaics by Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Incorporation

Improving charge collection is one of the key issues for high-performance PbS colloidal quantum dot photovoltaics (CQDPVs) due to the considerable charge loss resulting from the low mobility and large defect densities of the 1,2-ethanedithiol-treated PbS quantum dot hole-transporting layer (HTL). To overcome these limitations, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and C₆₀-encapsulated SWNTs (C₆₀@SWNTs) are incorporated into the HTL in CQDPVs. SWNT-incorporated CQDPV demonstrates a significantly improved short-circuit current density (J_SC), and C₆₀@SWNT-incorporated CQDPV exhibits an even higher J_SC than that of pristine SWNT. Both result in improved power-conversion efficiencies. Hole-selective, photoinduced charge extraction with linearly increasing voltage measurements demonstrates that SWNT or C₆₀@SWNT incorporation improves hole-transporting behavior, rendering suppressed charge recombination and enhanced mobility of the HTL. The enhanced p-type characteristics and the improved hole diffusion lengths of SWNT- or C₆₀@SWNT-incorporated HTL bring improvement of the entire hole-transporting length and enable lossless hole collection, which results in the J_SC enhancement of the CQDPVs.

Phase Pure 2D Perovskite for High-Performance 2D-3D Heterostructured Perovskite Solar Cells

Three-dimensional (3D) metal-halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have demonstrated exceptional high efficiency. However, instability of the 3D perovskite is the main challenge for industrialization. Incorporation of some long organic cations into perovskite crystal to terminate the lattice, and function as moisture and oxygen passivation layer and ion migration blocking layer, is proven to be an effective method to enhance the perovskite stability. Unfortunately, this method typically sacrifices charge-carrier extraction efficiency of the perovskites. Even in 2D-3D vertically aligned heterostructures, a spread of bandgaps in the 2D due to varying degrees of quantum confinement also results in charge-carrier localization and carrier mobility reduction. A trade-off between the power conversion efficiency and stability is made. Here, by introducing 2D C₆ H₁₈ N₂ O₂ PbI₄ (EDBEPbI₄ ) microcrystals into the precursor solution, the grain boundaries of the deposited 3D perovskite film are vertically passivated with phase pure 2D perovskite. The phases pure (inorganic layer number n = 1) 2D perovskite can minimize photogenerated charge-carrier localization in the low-dimensional perovskite. The dominant vertical alignment does not affect charge-carrier extraction. Therefore, high-efficiency (21.06%) and ultrastable (retain 90% of the initial efficiency after 3000 h in air) planar PSCs are demonstrated with these 2D-3D mixtures.

Understanding Detrimental and Beneficial Grain Boundary Effects in Halide Perovskites

Grain boundaries play a key role in the performance of thin-film optoelectronic devices and yet their effect in halide perovskite materials is still not understood. The biggest factor limiting progress is the inability to identify grain boundaries. Noncrystallographic techniques can misidentify grain boundaries, leading to conflicting literature reports about their influence; however, the gold standard - electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) - destroys halide perovskite thin films. Here, this problem is solved by using a solid-state EBSD detector with 6000 times higher sensitivity than the traditional phosphor screen and camera. Correlating true grain size with photoluminescence lifetime, carrier diffusion length, and mobility shows that grain boundaries are not benign but have a recombination velocity of 1670 cm s^-1 , comparable to that of crystalline silicon. Amorphous grain boundaries are also observed that give rise to locally brighter photoluminescence intensity and longer lifetimes. This anomalous grain boundary character offers a possible explanation for the mysteriously long lifetime and record efficiency achieved in small grain halide perovskite thin films. It also suggests a new approach for passivating grain boundaries, independent of surface passivation, to lead to even better performance in optoelectronic devices.

Evaluation of Transport Parameters in MoS2/Graphene Junction Devices Fabricated by Chemical Vapor Deposition

We demonstrated imaging of the depletion layer in a MoS₂/graphene heterojunction fabricated by chemical vapor deposition and obtained their transport parameters such as diffusion length, lifetime, and mobility by using scanning photocurrent microscopy (SPCM). The device exhibited a n-type operation, which was determined by the MoS₂ layer with a lower mobility. The SPCM revealed the presence of the depletion layer at the heterojunction, whereas graphene provided an excellent electrical contact for the MoS₂ layer without resulting in a rectifying behavior, even if they were anchored within a very short range. The polarity of the photocurrent signal switched when we applied a drain-source bias voltage, from which we extracted the potential barrier at the junction. More importantly, a bias-dependent SPCM allowed us to simultaneously record the diffusion lengths of both majority and minority carriers for the respective MoS₂ and graphene layers. By combining the diffusion lengths with the lifetimes measured by femtosecond SPCM, we determined the electron and hole mobilities in each layer, from which we found that the electron mobility (160 cm² V^-1 s^-1) was higher than the hole mobility (80 cm² V^-1 s^-1) in MoS₂, whereas the hole mobility (15 000 cm² V^-1 s^-1) was relatively higher in graphene.

Influence of the Grain Size on the Properties of CH3NH3PbI3 Thin Films

Hybrid perovskites have already shown a huge success as an absorber in solar cells, resulting in the skyrocketing rise in the power conversion efficiency to more than η = 22%. Recently, it has been established that the crystal quality is one of the most important parameters to obtain devices with high efficiencies. However, the influence of the crystal quality on the material properties is not fully understood. Here, the influence of the morphology on electronic properties of CH₃NH₃PbI₃ thin films is investigated. Postannealing was used to vary the average grain size continuously from ≈150 to ≈1000 nm. Secondary grain growth is thermally activated with an activation energy of E_a = 0.16 eV. The increase in the grain size leads to an enhancement of the photoluminescence, indicating an improvement in the material quality. According to surface photovoltage measurements, the charge-carrier transport length exhibits a linear increase with increasing grain size. The charge-carrier diffusion length is limited by grain boundaries. Moreover, an improved morphology leads to a drastic increase in power conversion efficiency of the devices.

Minority Carrier Transport in Lead Sulfide Quantum Dot Photovoltaics

Lead sulfide quantum dots (PbS QDs) are an attractive material system for the development of low-cost photovoltaics (PV) due to their ease of processing and stability in air, with certified power conversion efficiencies exceeding 11%. However, even the best PbS QD PV devices are limited by diffusive transport, as the optical absorption length exceeds the minority carrier diffusion length. Understanding minority carrier transport in these devices will therefore be critical for future efficiency improvement. We utilize cross-sectional electron beam-induced current (EBIC) microscopy and develop methodology to quantify minority carrier diffusion length in PbS QD PV devices. We show that holes are the minority carriers in tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI)-treated PbS QD films due to the formation of a p-n junction with an ethanedithiol (EDT)-treated QD layer, whereas a heterojunction with n-type ZnO forms a weaker n⁺-n junction. This indicates that modifying the standard device architecture to include a p-type window layer would further boost the performance of PbS QD PV devices. Furthermore, quantitative EBIC measurements yield a lower bound of 110 nm for the hole diffusion length in TBAI-treated PbS QD films, which informs design rules for planar and ordered bulk heterojunction PV devices. Finally, the low-energy EBIC approach developed in our work is generally applicable to other emerging thin-film PV absorber materials with nanoscale diffusion lengths.

Surpassing the Exciton Diffusion Limit in Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Sensitized Solar Cells

Semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotube (s-SWNT) light sensitized devices, such as infrared photodetectors and solar cells, have recently been widely reported. Despite their excellent individual electrical properties, efficient carrier transport from one carbon nanotube to another remains a fundamental challenge. Specifically, photovoltaic devices with active layers made from s-SWNTs have suffered from low efficiencies caused by three main challenges: the overwhelming presence of high-bandgap polymers in the films, the weak bandgap offset between the LUMO of the s-SWNTs and the acceptor C₆₀, and the limited exciton diffusion length from one SWNT to another of around 5 nm that limits the carrier extraction efficiency. Herein, we employ a combination of processing and device architecture design strategies to address each of these transport challenges and fabricate photovoltaic devices with s-SWNT films well beyond the exciton diffusion limit of 5 nm. While our solution processing method minimizes the presence of undesired polymers in our active films, our interfacial designs led to a significant increase in current generation with the addition of a highly doped C₆₀ layer (n-doped C₆₀), resulting in increased carrier separation efficiency from the s-SWNTs films. We create a dense interconnected nanoporous mesh of s-SWNTs using solution shearing and infiltrate it with the acceptor C₆₀. Thus, our final engineered bulk heterojunction allows carriers from deep within to be extracted by the C₆₀ registering a 10-fold improvement in performance from our preliminary structures.

Carrier Transport Improvement of CH3NH3PbI3 Film by Methylamine Gas Treatment

Recently, perovskite solar cells with high photovoltaic performance based on methylammonium lead halide have attracted great interest due to the superior physical properties of the perovskite optical absorption layer. Here, we investigate the interface carrier transport properties of CH₃NH₃PbI₃ film by applying the reported treatment with methylamine gas, to reveal the possible mechanism of high performance perovskite-sensitized solar cell results. It is found that the crystal structure and surface morphology are effectively improved by the room-temperature repair of methylamine atmosphere. The preferred 110 orientation results in a slightly larger band gap, which may contribute to the better energy level matching and carrier transport. Further investigations on relaxation time and electron mobility confirm the significantly enhanced carrier diffusion length, revealing the important role of optimized crystallization on charge transport properties, which may be helpful to seek high-powered perovskite solar cells by optimizing the perovskite synthetic process.

Record Charge Carrier Diffusion Length in Colloidal Quantum Dot Solids via Mutual Dot-To-Dot Surface Passivation

Through a combination of chemical and mutual dot-to-dot surface passivation, high-quality colloidal quantum dot solids are fabricated. The joint passivation techniques lead to a record diffusion length for colloidal quantum dots of 230 ± 20 nm. The technique is applied to create thick photovoltaic devices that exhibit high current density without losing fill factor.

Materials processing routes to trap-free halide perovskites

Photovoltaic devices based on lead iodide perovskite films have seen rapid advancements, recently achieving an impressive 17.9% certified solar power conversion efficiency. Reports have consistently emphasized that the specific choice of growth conditions and chemical precursors is central to achieving superior performance from these materials; yet the roles and mechanisms underlying the selection of materials processing route is poorly understood. Here we show that films grown under iodine-rich conditions are prone to a high density of deep electronic traps (recombination centers), while the use of a chloride precursor avoids the formation of key defects (Pb atom substituted by I) responsible for short diffusion lengths and poor photovoltaic performance. Furthermore, the lowest-energy surfaces of perovskite crystals are found to be entirely trap-free, preserving both electron and hole delocalization to a remarkable degree, helping to account for explaining the success of polycrystalline perovskite films. We construct perovskite films from I-poor conditions using a lead acetate precursor, and our measurement of a long (600 ± 40 nm) diffusion length confirms this new picture of the importance of growth conditions.

High charge carrier mobilities and lifetimes in organolead trihalide perovskites

Organolead trihalide perovskites are shown to exhibit the best of both worlds: charge-carrier mobilities around 10 cm2 V−1 s−1 and low bi-molecular charge-recombination constants. The ratio of the two is found to defy the Langevin limit of kinetic charge capture by over four orders of magnitude. This mechanism causes long (micrometer) charge-pair diffusion lengths crucial for flat-heterojunction photovoltaics.

Solid-State Mesostructured Perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 Solar Cells: Charge Transport, Recombination, and Diffusion Length

We report on the effect of TiO2 film thickness on charge transport and recombination in solid-state mesostructured perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 (via one-step coating) solar cells using spiro-MeOTAD as the hole conductor. Intensity-modulated photocurrent/photovoltage spectroscopies show that the transport and recombination properties of solid-state mesostructured perovskite solar cells are similar to those of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells. Charge transport in perovskite cells is dominated by electron conduction within the mesoporous TiO2 network rather than from the perovskite layer. Although no significant film-thickness dependence is found for transport and recombination, the efficiency of perovskite cells increases with TiO2 film thickness from 240 nm to about 650-850 nm owing primarily to the enhanced light harvesting. Further increasing film thickness reduces cell efficiency associated with decreased fill factor or photocurrent density. The electron diffusion length in mesostructured perovskite cells is longer than 1 μm for over four orders of magnitude of light intensity.

Modeling the current-voltage characteristics of thin-film silicon solar cells based on photo-induced electron transfer processes

Power conversion efficiency of p-i-n type macrocrystalline silicon (µc-Si:H) solar cells has been analyzed in terms of sequential processes of photo-induced electron transfer. The effect of the excitonic state on the charged carrier generation has been studied compared to a conventional scheme in which only charged carriers are taken into account for the operation of the solar cells. A numerical model has been developed to calculate current-voltage characteristics of solar cells on the basis of two types of charged carrier generation processes (exciton process and charged carrier process). The light trapping effect due to a textured back surface reflector (BSR) was embedded in the numerical model by using the effective medium theory in combination with the matrix method in the field of the electromagnetic theory of light. As an application of this modeling, it was found that the reported data of the power conversion efficiency were not explained by the conventional charged carrier process model and that the combined model of the charged carrier process with the exciton process well explains the performance of the p-i-n type μc-Si:H solar cells. In this way, the typical power conversion efficiencies were estimated to be 10.5% for the device (i-layer thickness: 1.8 μm) with the BSR (period: 600 nm; height: 250 nm) and 8.6% for the device with the flat reflector under the condition that the fractions of the exciton process and charged carrier process were 60% and 40%, respectively.

Improvement of carrier diffusion length in silicon nanowire arrays using atomic layer deposition

To achieve a high-efficiency silicon nanowire (SiNW) solar cell, surface passivation technique is very important because a SiNW array has a large surface area. We successfully prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) high-quality aluminum oxide (Al2O3) film for passivation on the whole surface of the SiNW arrays. The minority carrier lifetime of the Al2O3-depositedSiNW arrays with bulk silicon substrate was improved to 27 μs at the optimum annealing condition. To remove the effect of bulk silicon, the effective diffusion length of minority carriers in the SiNW array was estimated by simple equations and a device simulator. As a result, it was revealed that the effective diffusion length in the SiNW arrays increased from 3.25 to 13.5 μm by depositing Al2O3 and post-annealing at 400°C. This improvement of the diffusion length is very important for application to solar cells, and Al2O3 deposited by ALD is a promising passivation material for a structure with high aspect ratio such as SiNW arrays.

Diffusion Length in Nanoporous Photoelectrodes of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells under Operating Conditions Measured by Photocurrent Microscopy

We determined the carrier diffusion lengths in nanoporous layers of dye-sensitized solar cells by using scanning photocurrent microscopy. The diffusion lengths were found to be 60-100 μm for the conventional cells. In addition, we found a correlation between the carrier diffusion lengths and the cell efficiency, which proved that improvement in the diffusion length is one of the crucial factors for optimizing device performance. The diffusion length was measured for various operating conditions by varying parameters such as solar light intensity and applied electrical voltage. In particular, we observed electric-field-driven, carrier transport phenomena (i.e., drift current) in modified cells. Fitting with the drift-diffusion model enabled us to extract the electric field strengths present in the TiO2 nanoporous layer.

Effect of etching time on morphological, optical, and electronic properties of silicon nanowires

Owing to their interesting electronic, mechanical, optical, and transport properties, silicon nanowires (SiNWs) have attracted much attention, giving opportunities to several potential applications in nanoscale electronic, optoelectronic devices, and silicon solar cells. For photovoltaic application, a superficial film of SiNWs could be used as an efficient antireflection coating. In this work we investigate the morphological, optical, and electronic properties of SiNWs fabricated at different etching times. Characterizations of the formed SiNWs films were performed using a scanning electron microscope, ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared spectroscopy, and light-beam-induced-current technique. The latter technique was used to determine the effective diffusion length in SiNWs films. From these investigations, we deduce that the homogeneity of the SiNWs film plays a key role on the electronic properties.

How Important is Working with an Ordered Electrode to Improve the Charge Collection Efficiency in Nanostructured Solar Cells?

The collection efficiency of carriers in solar cells based on nanostructured electrodes is determined for different degrees or morphological one-dimensional order. The transport process is modeled by random walk numerical simulation in a mesoporous electrode that resembles the morphology of nanostructured TiO2 electrodes typically used in dye-sensitized solar cells and related systems. By applying an energy relaxation procedure in the presence of an external potential, a preferential direction is induced in the system. It is found that the partially ordered electrode can almost double the collection efficiency with respect to the disordered electrode. However, this improvement depends strongly on the probability of recombination. For too rapid or too slow recombination, working with partially ordered electrodes will not be beneficial. The computational method utilized here makes it possible to relate the charge collection efficiency with morphology. The collection efficiency is found to reach very rapidly a saturation value, meaning that, in the region of interest, a slight degree of ordering might be sufficient to induce a large improvement in collection efficiency.