In-depth structural characterization of perovskite and kesterite solar cells with photoelectron spectroscopy

Date

2025-6-19

Author

Javed, Ahmed

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The new developments in the photovoltaic industry have introduced alternative materials that have the potential to replace the expensive silicon technology and play a pivotal role in resolving the global energy issues. The first part of this thesis includes an in-depth analysis of the carbon-rich fine-grain layer in kesterite solar cells, while the second part focuses on passivation strategies in perovskite solar cells. Colloidal nanocrystal kesterite solar cells have garnered substantial interest; however, the kesterite layers processed with organic solvents feature a carbon-rich fine-grain layer. The fine-grain layer beneath the large-grain layer is accessed by a scalable and repeatable photonic lift-off method. The argon ions assisted depth profile XPS analysis has revealed that there is a significant variation in the concentration of cations and anions in the bi-layer structure. Moreover, the fine-grain layer in the kesterite absorber has 70% carbon content, which poses a negative influence on the solar cell performance due to increased series resistance. In addition to this, the second part of this thesis includes the characterization of P-I-N and N-I-P perovskite solar cells. In the N-I-P device, the use of diketopyrrolopyrrole polymer as a passivation layer between perovskite and spiro-OMeTAD has resulted in higher performance and stability. The polymer-passivated perovskite surface is studied by XPS, which reveals a reduction in metallic lead occupation at the surface. Moreover, the nickel oxide is passivated with self-assembled monolayers in the P-I-N device. An angle-resolved XPS study has uncovered useful insights regarding the passivation layer modification on the nickel oxide surface.

Subject Keywords

Thin-film, Kesterite, Perovskite, Characterization, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115109

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis