Interface limited hole extraction from methylammonium lead iodide films

Small solar cells based on metal halide perovskites have shown a tremendous increase in efficiency in recent years. These huge strides in device performance make it important to understand processes such as accumulation and extraction of charge carriers to better address the scalability and stability challenges which have not been solved yet. In most studies to date it is unclear whether the limiting factor of charge extraction is charge transport in the bulk of the perovskite or transfer across the interface with the charge extracting layer, owing largely to the inaccessibility of buried interfaces. Separating bulk and interfacial effects on charge extraction can help the search for new charge extracting materials, improve understanding of charge transport in active layer materials and help optimise device performance; not only in the laboratory setting but also for commercial production. Here we present a method to unambiguously distinguish between bulk and interface effects on charge extraction dynamics which is based on time-resolved photoluminescence with different excitation density profiles. We use this method to study charge extraction from solution-deposited CH3NH3PbI3 films to NiO and PEDOT:PSS layers. We find that NiO shows faster hole extraction than PEDOT:PSS from the 300 nm thick perovskite film on the time scale of 300 ps which is independent of charge carrier density in the region of 1016–1017 cm−3. The interface with NiO is found to only slightly limit charge extraction rate at charge densities exceeding 1016 cm−3 as the extraction rate is fast and does not decrease with time. This is in contrast to PEDOT:PSS where we find the charge extraction rate to be slower, decreasing with time and dependent on charge density in the region 1016–1017 cm−3 which we interpret as charge accumulation at the interface. Hence we find that charge extraction is severely limited by the interface with PEDOT:PSS. These findings are confirmed by transient absorption spectroscopy. A hole diffusion coefficient of D = (2.2 ± 0.5) cm2 s−1 was determined in the perovskite film that is independent of charge density. This indicates a band-like hole transport regime, not observed for solution processed films before. Our findings stress the importance of interface optimization in devices based on perovskite active layers as there is still room for improvement of the hole extraction rate even in the case of the superior NiO layer

Enhanced exciton harvesting in a planar heterojunction organic photovoltaic device by solvent vapor annealing

The singlet exciton diffusion length was measured in a small molecule electron donor material DR3TBDTT using fluorescence quenching at a planar interface with a cross-linked fullerene derivative. The one-dimensional exciton diffusion length was increased from ~16 to ~24 nm by annealing the film in carbon disulfide solvent vapor. Planar heterojunction solar cells were fabricated using bilayers of these materials and it was found that solvent vapor annealing increased the short circuit current density by 46%. This can be explained by improved exciton harvesting in the annealed bilayer

Efficient indoor p-i-n hybrid perovskite solar cells using low temperature solution processed NiO as hole extraction layers

We are grateful to the European Commission for financial support through the grant, EXCITON 321305. Dr. L.K.Jagadamma acknowledges support from a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (European Commission) (MCIF: No. 745776). We are also grateful to EPSRC for an equipment grant (EP/L017008/1).Hybrid perovskites have received tremendous attention due to their exceptional photovoltaic and optoelectronic properties. Among the two widely used perovskite solar cell device architectures of n-i-p and p-i-n, the latter is interesting in terms of its simplicity of fabrication and lower energy input. However this structure mostly uses PEDOT:PSS as a hole transporting layer which can accelerate the perovskite solar cell degradation. Hence the development of stable, inorganic hole extraction layers (HEL), without compromising the simplicity of device fabrication is crucial in this fast-growing photovoltaic field. Here we demonstrate a low temperature (~100 °C) solution - processed and ultrathin (~6 nm) NiO nanoparticle thin films as an efficient HEL for CH3NH3PbI3 based perovskite solar cells. We measure a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.3% on rigid glass substrates and 8.5% on flexible substrates. A comparison with PEDOT:PSS based MAPbI3 solar cells (PCE ~ 7.9%) shows that NiO based solar cells have higher short circuit current density and improved open circuit voltage (1.03 V). Apart from the photovoltaic performance under 1 Sun, the efficient hole extraction property of NiO is demonstrated for indoor lighting as well with a PCE of 23.0% for NiO based CH3NH3PbI2.9Cl0.1 p-i-n solar cells under compact fluorescent lighting. Compared to the perovskite solar cells fabricated on PEDOT:PSS HEL, better shelf-life stability is observed for perovskite solar cells fabricated on NiO HEL. Detailed microstructural and photophysical investigations imply uniform morphology, lower recombination losses, and improved charge transfer properties for CH3NH3PbI3 grown on NiO HEL.PostprintPeer reviewe

Engineered exciton diffusion length enhances device efficiency in small molecule photovoltaics

n organic photovoltaic blends, there is a trade-off between exciton harvesting and charge extraction because of the short exciton diffusion length. Developing a way of increasing exciton diffusion length would overcome this trade-off by enabling efficient light harvesting from large domains. In this work, we engineered (enhanced) both exciton diffusion length and domain size using solvent vapour annealing (SVA). We show that SVA can give a three-fold enhancement in exciton diffusion coefficient (D) and nearly a doubling of exciton diffusion length. It also increases the domain size, leading to enhancement of charge extraction efficiency from 63 to 89%. Usually larger domains would reduce exciton harvesting but this is overcome by the large increase in exciton diffusion, leading to a 20% enhancement in device efficiency

Fast myocardial T(1) mapping using cardiac motion correction

PURPOSE: To improve the efficiency of native and postcontrast high-resolution cardiac T(1) mapping by utilizing cardiac motion correction. METHODS: Common cardiac T(1) mapping techniques only acquire data in a small part of the cardiac cycle, leading to inefficient data sampling. Here, we present an approach in which 80% of each cardiac cycle is used for T(1) mapping by integration of cardiac motion correction. Golden angle radial data was acquired continuously for 8 s with in-plane resolution of 1.3 × 1.3 mm(2). Cine images were reconstructed for nonrigid cardiac motion estimation. Images at different TIs were reconstructed from the same data, and motion correction was performed prior to T(1) mapping. Native T(1) mapping was evaluated in healthy subjects. Furthermore, the technique was applied for postcontrast T(1) mapping in 5 patients with suspected fibrosis. RESULTS: Cine images with high contrast were obtained, leading to robust cardiac motion estimation. Motion-corrected T(1) maps showed myocardial T(1) times similar to cardiac-triggered T(1) maps obtained from the same data (1288 ± 49 ms and 1259 ± 55 ms, respectively) but with a 34% improved precision (spatial variation: 57.0 ± 12.5 ms and 94.8 ± 15.4 ms, respectively, P < 0.0001) due to the increased amount of data. In postcontrast T(1) maps, focal fibrosis could be confirmed with late contrast-enhancement images. CONCLUSION: The proposed approach provides high-resolution T(1) maps within 8 s. Data acquisition efficiency for T(1) mapping was improved by a factor of 5 by integration of cardiac motion correction, resulting in precise T(1) maps

The Hilbert basis method for D-flat directions and the superpotential

We discuss, using the Hilbert basis method, how to efficiently construct a complete basis for D-flat directions in supersymmetric Abelian and non-Abelian gauge theories. We extend the method to discrete (R and non-R) symmetries. This facilitates the construction of a basis of all superpotential terms in a theory with given symmetries.Comment: 11 pages; a related mathematica code can be found at http://einrichtungen.ph.tum.de/T30e/codes/NonAbelianHilbert

Enhanced exciton harvesting in a planar heterojunction organic photovoltaic device by solvent vapor annealing

We thank the European Research Council (ERC) for financial support (EXCITON grant 321305). Data supporting this study is available at https://doi.org/10.17630/0e75f92d-6f8a-41be-ad45-ac6d1d890ee2.The singlet exciton diffusion length was measured in a small molecule electron donor material DR3TBDTT using fluorescence quenching at a planar interface with a cross-linked fullerene derivative. The one-dimensional exciton diffusion length was increased from ~16 to ~24 nm by annealing the film in carbon disulfide solvent vapor. Planar heterojunction solar cells were fabricated using bilayers of these materials and it was found that solvent vapor annealing increased the short circuit current density by 46%. This can be explained by improved exciton harvesting in the annealed bilayer.PostprintPeer reviewe

Effects of serum proteins on corrosion behavior of ISO 5832–9 alloy modified by titania coatings

Stainless steel ISO 5832–9 type is often used to perform implants which operate in protein-containing physiological environments. The interaction between proteins and surface of the implant may affect its corrosive properties. The aim of this work was to study the effect of selected serum proteins (albumin and γ-globulins) on the corrosion of ISO 5832–9 alloy (trade name M30NW) which surface was modified by titania coatings. These coatings were obtained by sol– gel method and heated at temperatures of 400 and 800 °C. To evaluate the effect of the proteins, the corrosion tests were performed with and without the addition of proteins with concentration of 1 g L−1 to the physiological saline solution (0.9 % NaCl, pH 7.4) at 37 °C. The tests were carried out within 7 days. The following electrochemical methods were used: open circuit potential, linear polarization resistance, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In addition, surface analysis by optical microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) method was done at the end of weekly corrosion tests. The results of corrosion tests showed that M30NW alloy both uncoated and modified with titania coatings exhibits a very good corrosion resistance during weekly exposition to corrosion medium. The best corrosion resistance in 0.9 % NaCl solution is shown by alloy samples modified by titania coating annealed at 400 °C. The serumproteins have no significant effect onto corrosion of investigated biomedical steel. The XPS results confirmed the presence of proteins on the alloy surface after 7 days of immersion in proteincontaining solutions.The investigations were supported by the National Science Centre project No. N N507 501339. The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Janusz Sobczak and Dr. hab. Wojciech Lisowski from Institute of Physical Chemistry of PAS for XPS surface analyses

Non-supersymmetric heterotic model building

We investigate orbifold and smooth Calabi-Yau compactifications of the non-supersymmetric heterotic SO(16)xSO(16) string. We focus on such Calabi-Yau backgrounds in order to recycle commonly employed techniques, like index theorems and cohomology theory, to determine both the fermionic and bosonic 4D spectra. We argue that the N=0 theory never leads to tachyons on smooth Calabi-Yaus in the large volume approximation. As twisted tachyons may arise on certain singular orbifolds, we conjecture that such tachyonic states are lifted in the full blow-up. We perform model searches on selected orbifold geometries. In particular, we construct an explicit example of a Standard Model-like theory with three generations and a single Higgs field.Comment: 1+30 pages latex, 11 tables; v2: references and minor revisions added, matches version published in JHE