Optoelectronic devices at the nanoscale: performance and stability

新兴的太阳能和照明技术正在为能源生产和转换的新模式产生巨大潜力。一种新的材料，混合钙钛矿，已显示出作为能源材料的潜力。然而，它们的性质是由复杂的纳米结构决定的，这直接影响了器件的性能。在这个项目中，电子显微镜被用作在这些小尺度上评估物理和材料特性的最佳方法。迄今为止的研究主要限于非原位测量，其中在不同于真实的条件下研究器件。在这里，我们的目标是利用最先进的沉积和表征技术在透射电子显微镜芯片上制造完全工作的钙钛矿太阳能电池和LED器件，以允许在操作中（即在照明和/或施加偏压下）进行研究。我们将使用这些测量来提取纳米器件的化学和介电特性，进而提供有关器件性能和稳定性的反馈，同时进行直接器件测量。这些测量将提供一个新的平台，以获得有关这些器件的重要新信息，并促进适用于各种半导体器件的新技术的开发。

Emerging solar and illumination technologies are generating enormous potential for a new paradigm in energy generation and transformation. A new material, hybrid perovskites, have shown promising potential as energy materials. However, their properties are dictated by a complicated nanostructure, which has directly affect the device performance. In this project, electron microscopy is used as an optimal way of accessing physical and material properties on these small length scales.Studies to date have been primarily limited to ex situ measurements in which devices are studied under conditions different than real ones. Here, we aim to utilise state of the art deposition and characterisation techniques to fabricate fully working perovskite solar cells and LED devices on transmission electron microscope chips, to allow their study in operando (i.e. under illumination and/or applied bias). We will use these measurements to extract the nanoscale device chemical and dielectric properties, in turn providing feedback about device performance and stability alongside simultaneous direct device measurements. These measurements will provide a new platform to obtain important new information about these devices, as well as facilitate development of a new technique applicable to a wide range of semiconducting devices.