Top-Down Approaches Towards Single Crystal Perovskite Solar Cells

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Energy Science
• Optoelectronics

Background:

• Hybrid perovskite solar cells are competitive with established thin-film technologies.
• Fabricating perovskite layers in thin-film devices presents challenges in controlling crystal growth.
• Single crystals are valuable for fundamental property studies but often use different materials than thin-film devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate top-down fabrication methods for perovskite single crystal devices.
• To enable photovoltaic characterization of perovskite single crystals using common thin-film materials.
• To bridge the gap between fundamental single-crystal studies and practical thin-film device applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilized low-temperature processed, top-down approaches for device fabrication.
• Employed common material combinations found in polycrystalline thin-film perovskite solar cells.
• Incorporated a polymer bezel for easier processing of small, free-standing single crystals.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite single crystal devices using top-down methods.
• Demonstrated the use of standard material combinations for perovskite single crystal devices.
• Enabled solution-processed, free-standing perovskite single crystal devices.

Conclusions:

• Top-down approaches offer a viable route for fabricating perovskite single crystal devices.
• These methods facilitate photovoltaic characterization on the same crystals used for fundamental studies.
• The approach allows for comparable material combinations between single crystal and thin-film devices.