skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: Emerging opportunities for hybrid perovskite solar cells using machine learning
While there are several bottlenecks in hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite (HOIP) solar cell production steps, including composition screening, fabrication, material stability, and device performance, machine learning approaches have begun to tackle each of these issues in recent years. Different algorithms have successfully been adopted to solve the unique problems at each step of HOIP development. Specifically, high-throughput experimentation produces vast amount of training data required to effectively implement machine learning methods. Here, we present an overview of machine learning models, including linear regression, neural networks, deep learning, and statistical forecasting. Experimental examples from the literature, where machine learning is applied to HOIP composition screening, thin film fabrication, thin film characterization, and full device testing, are discussed. These paradigms give insights into the future of HOIP solar cell research. As databases expand and computational power improves, increasingly accurate predictions of the HOIP behavior are becoming possible.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2023974
PAR ID:
10583929
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Publisher / Repository:
American Institute of Physics
Date Published:
Journal Name:
APL Energy
Volume:
1
Issue:
2
ISSN:
2770-9000
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Dye sensitized solar cells are a type of thin film solar cell used to convert sunlight into electrical energy. These devices use a different mechanism than conventional solar cells and can be made from materials which are biocompatible and biodegradable. The simplicity of design and small environmental impact of these devices make them a likely candidate for replacing conventional PV devices. Since these solar cells are thin film cells, they can be made to be transparent and can be printed on flexible substrate, allowing their incorporation into many household objects such as windows, backpacks, walls, and other objects which would otherwise not be used for energy generation. A wide variety of fabrication techniques and device designs exist for DSSCs, each having its benefits and deficiencies; it is the purpose of this paper to evaluate some of these design variations, including different semiconductor and dye types and scaffolds, as well as semiconductor surface treatment. 
    more » « less
  2. Dye sensitized solar cells are a type of thin film solar cell used to convert sunlight into electrical energy. These devices use a different mechanism than conventional solar cells and can be made from materials which are biocompatible and biodegradable. The simplicity of design and small environmental impact of these devices make them a likely candidate for replacing conventional PV devices. Since these solar cells are thin film cells, they can be made to be transparent and can be printed on flexible substrate, allowing their incorporation into many household objects such as windows, backpacks, walls, and other objects which would otherwise not be used for energy generation. A wide variety of fabrication techniques and device designs exist for DSSCs, each having its benefits and deficiencies; it is the purpose of this paper to evaluate some of these design variations, including different semiconductor and dye types and scaffolds, as well as semiconductor surface treatment using microwave plasma. 
    more » « less
  3. Abstract The ever increasing library of materials systems developed for organic solar‐cells, including highly promising non‐fullerene acceptors and new, high‐efficiency donor polymers, demands the development of methodologies that i) allow fast screening of a large number of donor:acceptor combinations prior to device fabrication and ii) permit rapid elucidation of how processing affects the final morphology/microstructure of the device active layers. Efficient, fast screening will ensure that important materials combinations are not missed; it will accelerate the technological development of this alternative solar‐cell platform toward larger‐area production; and it will permit understanding of the structural changes that may occur in the active layer over time. Using the relatively high‐efficiency poly[(5,6‐difluoro‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazol‐4,7‐diyl)‐alt‐(3,3′′′‐di(2‐octyldodecyl)‐2,2′;5′,2′′;5′′,2′′′‐quaterthiophen‐5,5′′′‐diyl)] (PCE11):phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid‐methyl‐ester acceptor (PCBM) blend systems, it is demonstrated that by means of straight‐forward thermal analysis, vapor‐phase‐infiltration imaging, and transient‐absorption spectroscopy, various blend compositions and processing methodologies can be rapidly screened, information on promising combinations can be obtained, reliability issues with respect to reproducibility of thin‐film formation can be identified, and insights into how processing aids, such as nucleating agents, affect structure formation, can be gained. 
    more » « less
  4. Abstract The morphology, chemical composition, and electronic uniformity of thin‐film solution‐processed optoelectronics are believed to greatly affect device performance. Although scanning probe microscopies can address variations on the micrometer scale, the field of view is still limited to well under the typical device area, as well as the size of extrinsic defects introduced during fabrication. Herein, a micrometer‐resolution 2D characterization method with millimeter‐scale field of view is demonstrated, which simultaneously collects photoluminescence spectra, photocurrent transients, and photovoltage transients. This high‐resolution morphology mapping is used to quantify the distribution and strength of the local optoelectronic property variations in colloidal quantum dot solar cells due to film defects, physical damage, and contaminants across nearly the entire test device area, and the extent to which these variations account for overall performance losses. It is found that macroscopic defects have effects that are confined to their localized areas, rarely prove fatal for device performance, and are largely not responsible for device shunting. Moreover, quantitative analysis based on statistical partitioning methods of such data is used to show how defect identification can be automated while identifying variations in underlying properties such as mobilities and recombination strengths and the mechanisms by which they govern device behavior. 
    more » « less
  5. In this work, we report the different effects of CdCl 2 treatment on CdTe films deposited by thermal evaporation onto CdS and MgZnO (MZO) buffer layers. The main finding, which is relevant for understanding recent advances in CdTe device efficiency, is that few-μm thick CdTe films deposited on MZO can be induced to completely recrystallize forming a film consisting of grains that span the film thickness and are up to 30 μm laterally. On CdS buffer layers, the changes in microstructure with Cl treatment are much less pronounced and the final microstructure is less ideal for thin film photovoltaics. We propose a thermodynamic framework for understanding the microstructural changes during CdCl 2 treatment which can assist in understanding the wide range of behaviors observed across the many CdTe thin film solar cell fabrication procedures. 
    more » « less