PLD of Metal Halide Perovskites: From In-Situ Photoluminescence During Growth to Efficient Solar Cell Devices

The dominance of vapor phase deposition in semiconductor technology extends to various applications, such as commercial thin-film PV manufacturing. Physical vapor deposition (PVD) of thin film materials offers distinct advantages, including conformal deposition, precise thickness control, and scalability. An underexplored alternative within PVD for metal halide perovskites (MHP) is pulsed laser deposition (PLD). We have recently demonstrated that PLD facilitates single-source vapor phase growth and stoichiometry control of MHPs; and solar cell devices with PLD-perovskites exceeding 19% efficiency. Furthermore, the growth control afforded by PLD, encompassing thickness and deposition rate, allows the epitaxial formation of MAPbI3 on lattice-matched substrates. To delve into the growth mechanisms at different PLD deposition rates for halide perovskites (e.g., high rates for solar cell applications or low rates for epitaxy), we conduct in-situ photoluminescence measurements during film growth, complemented by an in-depth ex-situ analysis using PL, XRD, MAS ss-NMR, and XPS. We discuss the role of the deposition parameters, deposition rate and PLD target composition on final film quality. The role of the substrate or contact layers on the film morphology, optoelectronic quality, and final device performance will be furthermore discussed. Combining PLD-controlled growth with insights into structural-property relationships provide important insights into the vapor-phase growth of MHPs, which can be applied in more PVD beyond PLD. All these are important steps forward in the controlled growth and future scalability of optoelectronic materials for efficient devices, both single junction and tandem solar cells.<br/><br/>References<br/>[2] https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202000162 [3] https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.1c02054 [4] https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202300588 [5] https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3671187/v1 [6] https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3730125/v1