US-12628492-B2 - Methods for improving perovskite solar cells

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a device that includes a first metal oxide layer having a first thickness, a second metal oxide layer having a second thickness, and a base layer having a third thickness, where the first metal oxide layer is positioned between the base layer and the second metal oxide layer, at least one of the base layer and/or the first metal oxide layer includes a carbon-containing material, and at least one of a carbon concentration gradient and/or an oxygen concentration gradient is present across at least one of a portion of the first thickness and/or a portion of the third thickness. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first metal oxide layer may be permeable to an oxygen-containing compound. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the oxygen-containing compound may include at least one of O 3 , N 2 O, and/or H 2 O 2 .

Inventors

• Axel Finn Palmstrom
• Joseph Jonathan Berry
• Samuel Aaron JOHNSON

Assignees

• Alliance for Energy Innovation, LLC
• THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240313

Claims (19)

1. 1 . A method comprising: a first depositing of a first layer comprising a first metal oxide onto a surface; contacting at least one of the surface or the first layer with at least one of an oxygen-containing compound or an oxygen plasma; and a second depositing of a second layer comprising a second metal oxide onto the first layer, wherein: at least one of the surface or the first layer includes a carbon-containing material, the oxygen-containing compound reacts with at least a portion of the carbon-containing material to form an oxygen-containing functional group bonded to carbon, the oxygen-containing functional group provides a nucleation site that facilitates, during the second depositing, forming structures comprising -C-O-M at the surface, on the first layer, or a combination thereof, and M is a metal from at least one of the first metal oxide or the second metal oxide.
2. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the oxygen-containing compound comprises at least one of N 2 O, O 3 , or H 2 O 2 .
3. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the oxygen-containing functional group comprises at least one of an epoxide, a hydroxyl, a carboxyl, a carbonyl, an aldehyde, an ester, a carboxylic acid, an ether, a ketone, an acyl halide, an amide, or an acid anhydride.
4. 4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contacting with the oxygen-containing compound or oxygen plasma and the second depositing are performed between 1 and 150 times.
5. 5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contacting further comprises contacting with ozone for a period of time between 10 ms and 60 seconds.
6. 6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first depositing is performed using at least one of a gas phase method, a vapor phase method, or a solution phase method.
7. 7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the first depositing is performed using atomic layer deposition and a first metal oxide precursor.
8. 8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first depositing is performed between 1 and 150 cycles.
9. 9 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first metal oxide precursor comprises tetrakis-dimethylamino tin(IV) and the first layer comprises tin oxide.
10. 10 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first depositing further comprises water.
11. 11 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the first depositing is performed at a temperature between 50° C. and 150° C.
12. 12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second depositing is performed using at least one of a gas phase method, a vapor phase method, or a solution phase method.
13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the second depositing is performed using atomic layer deposition and a second metal oxide precursor.
14. 14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the second metal oxide precursor comprises tetrakis-dimethylamino tin(IV) and the second layer comprises tin oxide.
15. 15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the second depositing is performed at a temperature between 50° C. and 150° C.
16. 16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface is part of a base layer having a thickness.
17. 17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the oxygen-containing functional group is present in at least one of a gradient aligned in a direction across the thickness of the base layer or in a direction that is substantially orthogonal to an interface between the base layer and the first layer.
18. 18 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising, prior to the first depositing, scribing at least a portion of the base layer resulting in a gap passing through the thickness of the base layer and resulting in the forming of the surface.
19. 19 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the second depositing results in at least a portion of the second metal oxide penetrating into at least one of the surface or the base layer.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/490,031 filed on Mar. 14, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in the entirety. CONTRACTUAL ORIGIN This invention was made with government support under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 awarded by the Department of Energy. The government has certain rights in the invention. BACKGROUND There are two primary challenges for growing by atomic layer deposition (ALD) high-quality oxide barriers on top of metal-halide perovskite (MHP) semiconductors: (i) potentially unfavorable interactions between the MHP surface and ALD precursor, necessitating the use of an interlayer between the MHP absorber and tin oxide film and (ii) the lack of organic or small molecule selective contact materials with reactive functional groups (e.g. —O—, —OH) suitable for initiating ALD surface nucleation. Nucleation of ALD on unreactive, low-energy surfaces often leads to nucleation delay, where no growth or non-conformal growth occurs in the first several growth cycles. In the case of nucleation delay on soft materials, this can enable to sub-surface diffusion of ALD reactants. In the case of unreactive, yet more permeable materials, such as polymers, organometallic precursors have been shown to diffuse tens to hundreds of nanometers sub-surface and affect bulk mechanical properties. Exothermic subsurface reactions can lead to expansion and contraction of an ALD oxide film throughout the half-cycles of the ALD process producing, among other things, cracked layers. Therefore, there remains a need for improved methods for growing thin oxide layers on the underlying layers of MHP-containing devices. SUMMARY An aspect of the present disclosure is a device that includes a first metal oxide layer having a first thickness, a second metal oxide layer having a second thickness, and a base layer having a third thickness, where the first metal oxide layer is positioned between the base layer and the second metal oxide layer, at least one of the base layer and/or the first metal oxide layer includes a carbon-containing material, and at least one of a carbon concentration gradient and/or an oxygen concentration gradient is present across at least one of a portion of the first thickness and/or a portion of the third thickness. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first metal oxide layer may be permeable to an oxygen-containing compound. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the oxygen-containing compound may include at least one of O3, N2O, and/or H2O2. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first thickness may be between 1 Å and 200 nm. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first metal oxide layer may include at least one of a tin oxide, a zinc oxide, a molybdenum oxide, a vanadium oxide, a nickel oxide, an aluminum oxide, a titanium oxide, a hafnium oxide, a zirconium oxide, a silicon oxide, a copper oxide, a chromium oxide, a cobalt oxide, a manganese oxide, and/or an indium-tin-oxide. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second thickness may be between 1 Å and 200 nm. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second metal oxide layer may include at least one of a tin oxide, a zinc oxide, a molybdenum oxide, a vanadium oxide, a nickel oxide, an aluminum oxide, a titanium oxide, a hafnium oxide, a zirconium oxide, a silicon oxide, a copper oxide, a chromium oxide, a cobalt oxide, a manganese oxide, and/or an indium-tin-oxide. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least a portion of the first metal oxide layer may form an interface with the base layer. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one of the oxygen concentration gradient and/or the carbon concentration gradient may be characterized by a maximum concentration of carbon-oxygen bonds at or near the interface. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least a portion of the second metal oxide layer may penetrate through the first metal oxide layer into a portion of the third thickness, as determined by at least one of X-ray reflectivity or transmission electron microscopy. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the base layer may include at least one of a perovskite and/or a charge transport material (CTM). In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first metal oxide layer may include tin oxide, the second metal oxide layer may include tin oxide, the base layer may include a fullerene, and at least a portion of the tin oxide of the first metal oxide layer may penetrate into at least a portion of the third thickness of the fullerene. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the portion of the thickness of the fullerene penetrated by the tin oxide of the first metal oxide layer may have a thickness between 10 Å and 61 Å. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the portion of the thickness of the fullerene penetrated