(662b) A General Deposition Method of and Optimization of Quantum-Cutting, Doped Metal-Halide Perovskite Films for Highly Efficient Photovoltaics

The highly tunable and exceptional optoelectronic properties of metal-halide perovskites have generated extensive academic and industrial interest due to the remarkable performance of metal-halide perovskites as photovoltaics, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, etc. For example, Yb³⁺-doped inorganic perovskites have exhibited near-infrared photoluminescence quantum yields approaching 200%, via a quantum-cutting mechanism that enables highly efficient sensitization of Yb³⁺. The tunable absorption and strong near-infrared photoluminescence of these materials makes them ideal downconversion layers for pairing with silicon and CIGS photovoltaic technologies. However, the ultimate efficiency of these devices is unclear in light of their robust photoluminescence saturation at moderate absorbed photon fluxes and their tunable properties. Similarly, the deposition of efficient downconversion layers requires stringent optical quality and scalable, large-area, conformal coating of photovoltaic devices. Indeed, these challenges extend to almost all metal-halide perovskite applications.

Here, we present the optimization of quantum-cutting Yb³⁺-doped inorganic perovskites as highly efficient downconversion layers for photovoltaics. Detailed balance calculations illustrate that quantum-cutting layers can be tuned to significantly boost the annual power generation of silicon and CIGS solar cells, without the complex device engineering required for other solutions such as tandem photovoltaics. In addition, we’ll demonstrate a new, general deposition strategy for perovskites that enables the low-cost, scalable, and conformal coating of doped metal-halide perovskite thin films. We anticipate that this general method for metal-halide perovskite films will be broadly applicable to optoelectronic applications, and we demonstrate some initial device results.