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Sn‐based perovskites are promising Pb‐free photovoltaic materials with an ideal 1.3 eV bandgap. However, to date, Sn‐based thin film perovskite solar cells have yielded relatively low power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). This is traced to their poor photophysical properties (i.e., short diffusion lengths (<30 nm) and two orders of magnitude higher defect densities) than Pb‐based systems. Herein, it is revealed that melt‐synthesized cesium tin iodide (CsSnI3) ingots containing high‐quality large single crystal (SC) grains transcend these fundamental limitations. Through detailed optical spectroscopy, their inherently superior properties are uncovered, with bulk carrier lifetimes reaching 6.6 ns, doping concentrations of around 4.5 × 1017cm−3, and minority‐carrier diffusion lengths approaching 1 µm, as compared to their polycrystalline counterparts having ≈54 ps, ≈9.2 × 1018cm−3, and ≈16 nm, respectively. CsSnI3SCs also exhibit very low surface recombination velocity of ≈2 × 103cm s−1, similar to Pb‐based perovskites. Importantly, these key parameters are comparable to high‐performance p‐type photovoltaic materials (e.g., InP crystals). The findings predict a PCE of ≈23% for optimized CsSnI3SCs solar cells, highlighting their great potential.
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Demonstration of Low Work Function Perovskite SrVO 3 Using Thermionic Electron Emission
Abstract Engineering a material's work function is of central importance for many technologies and in particular electron emitters used in high‐power vacuum electronics and thermionic energy converters. A low work function surface is typically achieved through unstable surface functional species, especially in high power thermionic electron emitter applications. Discovering and engineering new materials with intrinsic, stable low work functions obtainable without volatile surface species would mark a definitive advancement in the design of electron emitters. This work reports evidence for the existence of a low work function surface on a bulk, monolithic, electrically conductive perovskite oxide: SrVO3. After considering the patch field effect on the heterogeneous emitting surface of the bulk polycrystalline samples, this study suggests the presence of low work function (≈2 eV) emissive grains on SrVO3surface. Emission current densities of 10–100 mA cm–2at ≈1000 °C, comparable to commercial LaB6thermionic cathodes, indicative of an overall effective thermionic work function of 2.3–2.7 eV are obtained. This study demonstrates that perovskites like SrVO3may have intrinsically low work functions comparable to commercialized W‐based dispenser cathodes and suggests that, with further engineering, perovskites may represent a new class of low work function electron emitters.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2011401
- PAR ID:
- 10373581
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Volume:
- 32
- Issue:
- 41
- ISSN:
- 1616-301X
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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