Water as Origin of Hysteresis in Zinc Tin Oxide Thin-Film Transistors

The hysteresis behavior of transparent zinc tin oxide (ZTO) thin film transistors (TFTs) is identified to be a result of short-term bias stress induced by the measurement. The related density of shallow defect states can be adjusted by the amount of water in the ambient. Time-resolved studies of the TFTs under varied ambient demonstrate that hysteresis can be immediately switched on and off by the adsorption and desorption of water, respectively. These findings are expected to be of general importance also for other oxide-based TFTs

Polyanionic, Alkylthiosulfate-Based Thiol Precursors for Conjugated Polymer Self-Assembly onto Gold and Silver

Anionic, conjugated thiophene- and fluorene-based polyelectrolytes with alkylthiosulfate side chains undergo hydrolysis under formation of alkylthiol and dialkyldisulfide functions. The hydrolysis products can be deposited onto gold or silver surfaces by self-assembly from solutions of the anionic conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) precursors in polar solvents such as methanol. This procedure allows solution-based surface modifications of gold and silver electrodes using environmentally friendly solvents and enables the formation of conjugated polymer bilayers. The herein presented alkyl­thiosulfate-substituted CPEs are promising candidates for increasing the work function of gold and silver electrodes thus improving hole injection from such electrode assemblies into organic semiconductors

Spatial Atmospheric Pressure Atomic Layer Deposition of Tin Oxide as an Impermeable Electron Extraction Layer for Perovskite Solar Cells with Enhanced Thermal Stability

Despite the notable success of hybrid halide perovskite-based solar cells, their long-term stability is still a key-issue. Aside from optimizing the photoactive perovskite, the cell design states a powerful lever to improve stability under various stress conditions. Dedicated electrically conductive diffusion barriers inside the cell stack, that counteract the ingress of moisture and prevent the migration of corrosive halogen species, can substantially improve ambient and thermal stability. Although atomic layer deposition (ALD) is excellently suited to prepare such functional layers, ALD suffers from the requirement of vacuum and only allows for a very limited throughput. Here, we demonstrate for the first time spatial ALD-grown SnO<i>_x</i> at atmospheric pressure as impermeable electron extraction layers for perovskite solar cells. We achieve optical transmittance and electrical conductivity similar to those in SnO<i>_x</i> grown by conventional vacuum-based ALD. A low deposition temperature of 80 °C and a high substrate speed of 2.4 m min^–1 yield SnO<i>_x</i> layers with a low water vapor transmission rate of ∼10^–4 gm^–2 day^–1 (at 60 °C/60% RH). Thereby, in perovskite solar cells, dense hybrid Al:ZnO/SnO<i>_x</i> electron extraction layers are created that are the key for stable cell characteristics beyond 1000 h in ambient air and over 3000 h at 60 °C. Most notably, our work of introducing spatial ALD at atmospheric pressure paves the way to the future roll-to-roll manufacturing of stable perovskite solar cells

Conformal and Highly Luminescent Monolayers of Alq₃ Prepared by Gas-Phase Molecular Layer Deposition

The gas-phase molecular layer deposition (MLD) of conformal and highly luminescent monolayers of tris­(8-hydroxyquinolinato)­aluminum (Alq₃) is reported. The controlled formation of Alq₃ monolayers is achieved for the first time by functionalization of the substrate with amino groups, which serve as initial docking sites for trimethyl aluminum (TMA) molecules binding datively to the amine. Thereby, upon exposure to 8-hydroxyquinoline (8-HQ), the self-limiting formation of highly luminescent Alq₃ monolayers is afforded. The growth process and monolayer formation were studied and verified by in situ quartz crystal monitoring, optical emission and absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The nature of the MLD process provides an avenue to coat arbitrarily shaped 3D surfaces and porous structures with high surface areas, as demonstrated in this work for silica aerogels. The concept presented here paves the way to highly sensitive luminescent sensors and dye-sensitized metal oxides for future applications (e.g., in photocatalysis and solar cells)