Strain regulates the photovoltaic performance of thick-film perovskites

Pengju Shi; Jiazhe Xu; Ilhan Yavuz; Tianyi Huang; Shaun Tan; Ke Zhao; Xu Zhang; Yuan Tian; Sisi Wang; Wei Fan; Yahui Li; Donger Jin; Xuemeng Yu; Chenyue Wang; Xingyu Gao; Zhong Chen; Enzheng Shi; Xihan Chen; Deren Yang; Jingjing Xue; Yang Yang; Rui Wang

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-47019-8

Strain regulates the photovoltaic performance of thick-film perovskites

Nat Commun. 2024 Mar 22;15(1):2579. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47019-8.

Authors

Pengju Shi^#^{1

2}, Jiazhe Xu^#^{1

2}, Ilhan Yavuz^#³, Tianyi Huang⁴, Shaun Tan⁴, Ke Zhao^{1

2}, Xu Zhang^{1

2}, Yuan Tian^{1

2}, Sisi Wang², Wei Fan^{1

2}, Yahui Li^{1

2}, Donger Jin¹, Xuemeng Yu⁵, Chenyue Wang⁶, Xingyu Gao⁶, Zhong Chen⁷, Enzheng Shi¹, Xihan Chen⁵, Deren Yang¹, Jingjing Xue^{8

9}, Yang Yang¹⁰, Rui Wang^{11

12}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China.
² Research Center for Industries of the Future, School of Engineering, Westlake University and Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, 310024, China.
³ Department of Physics, Marmara University, Ziverbey, Istanbul, 34722, Turkey.
⁴ Department of Materials Science and Engineering and California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
⁵ Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518055, China.
⁶ Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF), Zhangjiang Lab, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 239 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai, 201204, China.
⁷ Instrumentation and Service Center for Molecular Sciences, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou, 310024, Zhejiang Province, China.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China. jjxue@zju.edu.cn.
⁹ Shangyu Institute of Semiconductor Materials, Shaoxing, 312300, China. jjxue@zju.edu.cn.
¹⁰ Department of Materials Science and Engineering and California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. yangy@ucla.edu.
¹¹ Research Center for Industries of the Future, School of Engineering, Westlake University and Institute of Advanced Technology, Westlake Institute for Advanced Study, Hangzhou, 310024, China. wangrui@westlake.edu.cn.
¹² Division of Solar Energy Conversion and Catalysis at Westlake University, Zhejiang Baima Lake Laboratory Co., Ltd, Hangzhou, China. wangrui@westlake.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Perovskite photovoltaics, typically based on a solution-processed perovskite layer with a film thickness of a few hundred nanometres, have emerged as a leading thin-film photovoltaic technology. Nevertheless, many critical issues pose challenges to its commercialization progress, including industrial compatibility, stability, scalability and reliability. A thicker perovskite film on a scale of micrometres could mitigate these issues. However, the efficiencies of thick-film perovskite cells lag behind those with nanometre film thickness. With the mechanism remaining elusive, the community has long been under the impression that the limiting factor lies in the short carrier lifetime as a result of defects. Here, by constructing a perovskite system with extraordinarily long carrier lifetime, we rule out the restrictions of carrier lifetime on the device performance. Through this, we unveil the critical role of the ignored lattice strain in thick films. Our results provide insights into the factors limiting the performance of thick-film perovskite devices.