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.