Origin of layered perovskite device efficiencies revealed by multidimensional time-of-flight spectroscopy.

Mixtures of layered perovskite quantum wells with different sizes form prototypical light-harvesting antenna structures in solution-processed films. Gradients in the bandgaps and energy levels are established by concentrating the smallest and largest quantum wells near opposing electrodes in photovoltaic devices. Whereas short-range energy and charge carrier funneling behaviors have been observed in layered perovskites, our recent work suggests that such light-harvesting processes do not assist long-range charge transport due to carrier trapping at interfaces between quantum wells and interstitial organic spacer molecules. Here, we apply a two-pulse time-of-flight technique to a family of layered perovskite systems to explore the effects that interstitial organic molecules have on charge carrier dynamics. In these experiments, the first laser pulse initiates carrier drift within the active layer of a photovoltaic device, whereas the second pulse probes the transient concentrations of photoexcited carriers as they approach the electrodes. The instantaneous drift velocities determined with this method suggest that the rates of trap-induced carrier deceleration increase with the concentrations of organic spacer cations. Overall, our experimental results and model calculations suggest that the layered perovskite device efficiencies primarily reflect the dynamics of carrier trapping at interfaces between quantum wells and interstitial organic phases.

Research on Energy Efficiency of NOMA-SWIPT Cooperative Relay Network Using GS-DinkelBach Algorithm.

In order to improve the energy efficiency (EE) performance of cooperative networks, this study combines non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) with simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) technologies to construct a cooperative relay network composed of one base station (BS), multiple near users, and one far user. Based on the network characteristics, a time-division resource allocation rule is proposed, and EE formulas regarding direct-link mode and cooperative mode are derived. Considering user selection and decoding performance, to obtain the optimal EE, this study utilizes a DinkelBach iterative algorithm based on the golden section (GS-DinkelBach) to solve the EE optimization problem, which is affected by power transmitted from the BS, achievable rates under three communication links, and quality of service (QoS) constraints of users. The simulation results show that the GS-DinkelBach algorithm can obtain precise EE gains with low computational complexity. Compared with the traditional NOMA-SWIPT direct-link network model and the relay network model, the optimal EE of the established network model could be increased by 0.54 dB and 1.66 dB, respectively.

Multidimensional time-of-flight spectroscopy.

Experimental methods based on a wide range of physical principles are used to determine carrier mobilities for light-harvesting materials in photovoltaic cells. For example, in a time-of-flight experiment, a single laser pulse photoexcites the active layer of a device, and the transit time is determined by the arrival of carriers at an acceptor electrode. With inspiration from this conventional approach, we present a multidimensional time-of-flight technique in which carrier transport is tracked with a second intervening laser pulse. Transient populations of separate material components of an active layer may then be established by tuning the wavelengths of the laser pulses into their respective electronic resonances. This experimental technique is demonstrated using photovoltaic cells based on mixtures of organohalide perovskite quantum wells. In these "layered perovskite" systems, charge carriers are funneled between quantum wells with different thicknesses because of staggered band alignments. Multidimensional time-of-flight measurements show that these funneling processes do not support long-range transport because of carrier trapping. Rather, our data suggest that the photocurrent is dominated by processes in which the phases of the thickest quantum wells absorb light and transport carriers without transitions into domains occupied by quantum wells with smaller sizes. These same conclusions cannot be drawn using conventional one-dimensional techniques for measuring carrier mobilities. Advantages and disadvantages of multidimensional time-of-flight experiments are discussed in the context of a model for the signal generation mechanism.

Elucidation of Quantum-Well-Specific Carrier Mobilities in Layered Perovskites.

Layered organohalide perovskite films consist of quantum wells with concentration distributions tailored to enhance long-range charge transport. Whereas cascaded energy and charge funneling behaviors have been detected with conventional optical spectroscopies, it is not clear that such dynamics contribute to the efficiencies of photovoltaic cells. In this Letter, we use nonlinear photocurrent spectroscopy to selectively target charge transport processes within devices based on layered perovskite quantum wells. The photocurrent induced by a pair of laser pulses is directly measured in this "action" spectroscopy to remove ambiguities in signal interpretation. By varying the external bias, we determine carrier mobilities for quantum-well-specific trajectories taken through the active layers of the devices. The results suggest that the largest quantum wells are primarily responsible for photocurrent production, whereas the smallest quantum wells trap charge carriers and are a major source of energy loss in photovoltaic cells.

Nonlinear fluorescence spectroscopy of layered perovskite quantum wells.

Interest in layered organohalide perovskites is motivated by their potential for use in optoelectronic devices. In these systems, the smallest and largest quantum wells are primarily concentrated near the glass and air interfaces of a film, thereby establishing a gradient in the average values of the bandgaps. It has been suggested that this layered architecture promotes the funneling of electronic excitations through space in a manner similar to light-harvesting processes in photosynthetic antennae. Whereas energy and charge transfer are difficult to distinguish by conventional transient absorption techniques, it has recently been shown that these competing relaxation mechanisms may be separately targeted with nonlinear fluorescence (NLFL) and photocurrent "action spectroscopies." Here, we present perturbative rate functions to describe NLFL experiments conducted on layered perovskite systems. The formulas reproduce the patterns of resonances observed in experimental measurements and show how signatures of energy transfer manifest in two-dimensional spectra. Overall, this work suggests that NLFL spectroscopy may be used to fully reveal the trajectories of electronic excitations by correlating ultrafast energy transfer pathways to fluorescence emission from the thickest quantum wells.

Distinguishing Energy- and Charge-Transfer Processes in Layered Perovskite Quantum Wells with Two-Dimensional Action Spectroscopies.

Interest in photovoltaic devices based on layered perovskites is motivated by their tunable optoelectronic properties and stabilities in humid conditions. In these systems, quantum wells with different sizes are organized to direct energy and charge transport between electrodes; however, these relaxation mechanisms are difficult to distinguish based on conventional transient absorption techniques. Here, two-dimensional "action spectroscopies" are employed to separately target processes that lead to the production of photocurrent and energy loss due to fluorescence emission. These measurements show that energy transfer between quantum wells dominates the subnanosecond time scale, whereas electron transfer occurs at later times. Overall, this study suggests that while the intense exciton transitions promote light harvesting, much of the absorbed energy is lost by way of spontaneous emission. This limitation may be overcome with alternate layered perovskite systems that combine smaller exciton binding energies with large absorbance cross sections in the visible spectral range.

Efficient sky-blue perovskite light-emitting diodes via photoluminescence enhancement.

The efficiencies of green and red perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) have been increased close to their theoretical upper limit, while the efficiency of blue PeLEDs is lagging far behind. Here we report enhancing the efficiency of sky-blue PeLEDs by overcoming a major hurdle of low photoluminescence quantum efficiency in wide-bandgap perovskites. Blending phenylethylammonium chloride into cesium lead halide perovskites yields a mixture of two-dimensional and three-dimensional perovskites, which enhances photoluminescence quantum efficiency from 1.1% to 19.8%. Adding yttrium (III) chloride into the mixture further enhances photoluminescence quantum efficiency to 49.7%. Yttrium is found to incorporate into the three-dimensional perovskite grain, while it is still rich at grain boundaries and surfaces. The yttrium on grain surface increases the bandgap of grain shell, which confines the charge carriers inside grains for efficient radiative recombination. Record efficiencies of 11.0% and 4.8% were obtained in sky-blue and blue PeLEDs, respectively.

Nonlinear Photocurrent Spectroscopy of Layered 2D Perovskite Quantum Wells.

Two-dimensional coherent photocurrent spectroscopies directly probe the electronic states and processes that are relevant to the performance of a photovoltaic device. In this Letter, we apply two-pulse nonlinear photocurrent spectroscopy to a photovoltaic device based on layered perovskite quantum wells. The method effectively decomposes the photovoltaic response into contributions from separate quantum wells and excited-state species (i.e., either single excitons or biexcitons). Our experiments show that the efficiency of photocurrent generation increases with the size of the quantum well. Overall, the results suggest that energy funneling processes in layered perovskites, which are most prominent in transient absorption spectroscopies, are largely irrelevant to the function of a photovoltaic cell.

Imaging Excited State Dynamics in Layered 2D Perovskites with Transient Absorption Microscopy.

Two-dimensional (2D) hybrid perovskites are generating broad scientific interest because of their potential for use in photovoltaics and microcavity lasers. It has recently been demonstrated that mixtures of quantum wells with different thicknesses can be assembled in films with heterogeneous quantum well distributions. Large (small) quantum wells are concentrated at the air side (substrate side) of the films, thereby promoting directional energy and/or electron transfer. However, profiles of the quantum well concentrations have not been directly measured throughout the full thicknesses of the films. Similarly, the lateral motions of the excitations in these systems are not well-characterized. In this work, we perform focused ion beam milling tests to establish quantum well concentrations as a function of depth in layered 2D perovskite films. In addition, transient absorption microscopy is used to investigate carrier diffusion and two-body recombination processes. Comparisons of the layered films with phase-pure single crystals reveal that diffusion is suppressed by grain boundaries in the films, which in turn promotes two-body recombination. Similar behaviors were previously observed in bulk perovskite films and single crystals. These studies suggest that the morphology of the film, rather than the identity of the material, is the primary factor that governs the two-body recombination dynamics. Enhancement of the two-body recombination processes is desirable for applications such as microcavity lasers.

Excitation energy-dependent photocurrent switching in a single-molecule photodiode.

The direction of electron flow in molecular optoelectronic devices is dictated by charge transfer between a molecular excited state and an underlying conductor or semiconductor. For those devices, controlling the direction and reversibility of electron flow is a major challenge. We describe here a single-molecule photodiode. It is based on an internally conjugated, bichromophoric dyad with chemically linked (porphyrinato)zinc(II) and bis(terpyridyl)ruthenium(II) groups. On nanocrystalline, degenerately doped indium tin oxide electrodes, the dyad exhibits distinct frequency-dependent, charge-transfer characters. Variations in the light source between red-light (∼1.9 eV) and blue-light (∼2.7 eV) excitation for the integrated photodiode result in switching of photocurrents between cathodic and anodic. The origin of the excitation frequency-dependent photocurrents lies in the electronic structure of the chromophore excited states, as shown by the results of theoretical calculations, laser flash photolysis, and steady-state spectrophotometric measurements.

Synthetic control over orientational degeneracy of spacer cations enhances solar cell efficiency in two-dimensional perovskites.

Two-dimensional perovskites have emerged as more intrinsically stable materials for solar cells. Chemical tuning of spacer organic cations has attracted great interest due to their additional functionalities. However, how the chemical nature of the organic cations affects the properties of two-dimensional perovskites and devices is rarely reported. Here we demonstrate that the selection of spacer cations (i.e., selective fluorination of phenethylammonium) affects the film properties of two-dimensional perovskites, leading to different device performance of two-dimensional perovskite solar cells (average n = 4). Structural analysis reveals that different packing arrangements and orientational disorder of the spacer cations result in orientational degeneracy and different formation energies, largely explaining the difference in film properties. This work provides key missing information on how spacer cations exert influence on desirable electronic properties and device performance of two-dimensional perovskites via the weak and cooperative interactions of these cations in the crystal lattice.

Unveiling the operation mechanism of layered perovskite solar cells.

Layered perovskites have been shown to improve the stability of perovskite solar cells while its operation mechanism remains unclear. Here we investigate the process for the conversion of light to electrical current in high performance layered perovskite solar cells by examining its real morphology. The layered perovskite films in this study are found to be a mixture of layered and three dimensional (3D)-like phases with phase separations at micrometer and nanometer scale in both vertical and lateral directions. This phase separation is explained by the surface initiated crystallization process and the competition of the crystallization between 3D-like and layered perovskites. We further propose that the working mechanisms of the layered perovskite solar cells involve energy transfer from layered to 3D-like perovskite network. The impact of morphology on efficiency and stability of the hot-cast layered perovskite solar cells are also discussed to provide guidelines for the future improvement.