SPP 2196:  Perovskite semiconductors: From fundamental properties to devices

• Subject Area: Physics ; Chemistry ; Geosciences ; Computer Science, Systems and Electrical Engineering ; Materials Science and Engineering
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 402726906

A new class of hybrid organic-inorganic lead halide perovskite semiconductors has attracted global attention since the reports on high efficiency perovskite solar cells in mid-2012. In only a few years photoconversion efficiency surpassing 25% has been achieved. Despite rapid progress in this emerging field, including many exciting research findings by our SPP 2196, there is still limited understanding of many mechanisms that lead to such an extraordinary performance. For the second funding period, stability and device performance remain the major challenges. However, we have modified the challenges slightly to adjust for the recent advances in knowledge and to focus more on the current important research directions and open questions. The topics for the second funding period are:• Precursor chemistry, perovskite crystallisation, and film formation mechanisms• Effects of dimensionality (single crystals, 3D, 2D, 1D, 0D) and composition tuning• Role of lead and possible alternatives• Degradation mechanisms including compositional and phase stability• Nature of defects, defect tolerance, and passivation strategies• Fundamental electronic and optical properties (carrier dynamics/transport, charge recombination, role of interfaces, ion migration, etc.)• Micro- and nanoscale analysis• Spin effects/spin-orbit coupling• Emerging properties of perovskitesEven though we have gained a better understanding of many phenomena there are still a number of intriguing open questions and more research needed to increase our understanding of this intricate material class.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• International Connection: Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Projects

• A-site Modified Hybrid Perovskites: Compositional Engineering and Role of Grain Boundaries on Optoelectronic Properties (ASTRAL) (Applicants Mathur, Sanjay ;  Meerholz, Klaus )
• Coherent exciton dynamics in lead-free double perovskites (Applicants Akimov, Ilya ;  Dyakonov, Vladimir )
• Control over grain size and crystallinity: Role of trap states in perovskites II (Perocryst) (Applicants Ludwigs, Sabine ;  Schmidt-Mende, Ph.D., Lukas )
• Controlling internal and external interfaces in 2D perovskites to overcome intrinsic anisotropy of charge transport in solar cells (Applicants Köhler, Anna ;  Thelakkat, Mukundan )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Schmidt-Mende, Ph.D., Lukas )
• Correlating Defect Densities with Recombination Losses in Halide-Perovskite Solar Cells (CREATIVE) (Applicants Kirchartz, Thomas ;  Saliba, Michael )
• Coupled experimental and theoretical investigation of the process parameters controlling the perovskite structure formation: towards thick defect-free layers (Applicants Du, Ph.D., Tian ;  Harting, Jens )
• Dielectric Effects in Hybrid Perovskites and Charge Selective Trap States (Applicants Benson, Niels ;  Lupascu, Doru Constantin )
• Electroluminescent perovskite nanocrystals - From tailor-made assemblies to optoelectronic properties (Applicants Andrienko, Denis ;  Brütting, Wolfgang ;  Scheele, Marcus )
• Epitaxially grown tin perovskites (Applicants Ohmann, Robin ;  Saliba, Michael )
• Highly Efficient All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells with Reduced Recombination Losses and Improved Stability by Innovative Characterization (HIPSTER-PRO) (Applicants Albrecht, Steve ;  Lang, Felix ;  Riedl, Thomas ;  Snaith, Ph.D., Henry )
• Illuminating building block evolution of metal-halide perovskite semiconductors from solutions to thin films (GLIMPSE) (Applicants Cocchi, Caterina ;  Unger, Eva )
• Improving intrinsic stability of perovskite solar cells by additives (Applicant Dyakonov, Vladimir )
• Interfaces in All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells (Applicants Glunz, Stefan ;  Goldschmidt, Jan Christoph ;  Weber, Stefan )
• Interrogate: Interfaces in perovskite solar cells investigated with photoelectron spectroscopy and modelling: Feed Back Loop of Full Device Fabrication, Full Device Photoelectron spectroscopy Operando Characterization, and Full Device Modeling (Applicants Mayer, Thomas ;  Würfel, Uli )
• Lead-free Double Perovskite Materials for Photovoltaic Applications (Applicants Bein, Thomas ;  Dyakonov, Vladimir ;  Reuter, Karsten )
• Many-body interactions in two-dimensional halide perovskites: exciton-electron complexes & electron-phonon coupling (Applicants Chernikov, Alexey ;  Draxl, Claudia ;  Egger, David )
• Nature of Proton and Light induced Defects in Lead Halide Perovskites (Applicants Behrends, Jan ;  Nickel, Norbert )
• PERovskite deFECTs: Physics, eVolution and Stability (Applicants Deibel, Carsten ;  Vaynzof, Yana )
• Perovskite Heterostructure Investigations using Vacuum Evaporation and X-ray diffraction - PHIVE-X (Applicants Leo, Karl ;  Schreiber, Frank )
• Perovskite solar cells with graphite electrodes: Advanced interfaces for highest performance and stability (PeroGAIN) (Applicants Goldschmidt, Jan Christoph ;  Snaith, Ph.D., Henry ;  Würfel, Uli )
• Spatially resolved studies on addressable defects in hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite microcrystals prepared in the gas-phase (Applicants Polarz, Sebastian ;  Schmidt-Mende, Ph.D., Lukas ;  Weber, Stefan )
• Spin and recombination dynamics of excitons and carries in metal halide perovskites (Applicant Yakovlev, Ph.D., Dmitri )
• Two-dimensional perovskites: from fundamental understanding to their application at interfaces in perovskite solar cells (2D-FASOL) (Applicants Olthof, Selina ;  Riedl, Thomas )
• Understanding and suppressing interfacial charge recombination for high performance perovskite solar cells (SURPRISE II) (Applicants Koch, Norbert ;  Lang, Felix ;  Neher, Dieter ;  Unold, Thomas )
• Understanding the evolution of structure, ion migration and defect properties during (de)mixing of lead-halide perovskites (DE-MIX) (Applicants Grüninger, Helen ;  Köhler, Anna )

• Spokesperson: Professor Lukas Schmidt-Mende, Ph.D.