Summary:
UCLA Researchers in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering have developed a method to tune perovskite crystal orientation for increased performance, energy efficiency, and reduced material defect with a variety of field applications, including solar cells and LEDs.
Background:
Perovskite holds considerable promise as a highly efficient base material in solar cells. Crystal structures are often at the core of perovskite thin films, due to their unique physical characteristics that can be adapted for specific use and detection. However, altering the molecular structure of a crystal to fit its intended use is costly and energy taxing. Current methods are also inconsistent across different crystal structures, causing defects in the material, inhibiting ideal electric and optical properties, and ultimately reducing performance. Further, current methods to resolve such defects rely on thermal energy, which can degrade the molecule, resulting in a sacrifice between increasing optimization versus experiencing degradation. Thus, there is an unmet need for controllable crystal orientation that can reproduce high quality crystal structures tuned for various applications uniformly.
Innovation:
Prof. Yang Yang and his research team have developed novel additive structures which can create high quality perovskite thin film with controllable crystal orientation. The additives can be tuned in absorption and orientation which boosts surface energy and crystal growth process. The resulting thin film has a high degree of structural order, controllable orientation, and an unbroken structure with little to no defects. The process has been proven to span a large range of perovskite crystal phases, with each phase being characterized with unique atomic arrangements and physical properties specialized for specific application. In demonstrations of the additive’s peak intensity, the tuned molecules experience enhanced behaviors compared to the control and can attenuate phases to boost others. By tuning for specific crystal growth phases and in creating high quality film, a controllable nature of the perovskite structure is attained which is ideal to be modified for preferred functionality. The high-quality perovskite thin film with reduced defects can be used to prepare high performance and stable perovskite devices, including solar cell, LED, and imaging devices.
Potential Applications:
● Photovoltaics
● LEDs
● Light sensing and emission
● Imaging devices
● Radiation detection
● Spintronics
Advantages:
● Adjustable crystal orientation
● Adaptability for various applications
● Reduced defects and degradation
● Promotes high performance, stable devices
State of Development:
Successful demonstration of invention: 06/01/23
Reference:
UCLA Case No. 2024-023
Lead Inventor:
Yang Yang, Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)