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范式产生巨大的潜力。一种新材料——杂化钙钛矿，作为能源材料显示出了巨大的潜力。然而，它们的性能是由复杂的纳米结构决定的，这直接影响到器件的性能。在这个项目中，电子显微镜被用作在这些小长度尺度上访问物理和材料特性的最佳方法。迄今为止的研究主要局限于在不同于实际条件下研究装置的非原位测量。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，以便在操作条件下（即在照明和/或应用偏压下）进行研究。我们将使用这些测量来提取纳米级器件的化学和介电特性，从而在同时进行直接器件测量的同时提供有关器件性能和稳定性的反馈。这些测量将为获得有关这些器件的重要新信息提供一个新的平台，并促进适用于广泛半导体器件的新技术的发展。

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.