Cross-sectional Analysis of Surface Potential inside Solar Cells Using Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy
Shrabani Panigrahi a, Santanu Jana b, Tomás Calmeiro a, Daniela Nunes a, Rodrigo Martins a, Elvira Fortunato a
a Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, CENIMAT-I3N, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Portugal
b Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France
nanoGe Perovskite Conferences
Proceedings of International Conference on Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics, Photonics and Optoelectronics (ABXPV18PEROPTO)
Perovskite Thin Film Photovoltaics (ABXPV18). 27-28 Feb
Rennes, France, 2018 February 27th - March 1st
Organizer: Jacky Even
Oral, Shrabani Panigrahi, presentation 038
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.abxpvperopto.2018.038
Publication date: 11th December 2017

The internal potential of the solar cell devices depends on the basic mechanism of photovoltaic effect, such as charge carrier generation, separation, transport, recombination etc. Here we report the direct observation of the surface potential depth profile across the cross-section of the solar cell at different wavelengths of light using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). However, KPFM, a modified version of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), is a non-contact surface technique used to measure the local contact potential difference (CPD) between a conducting AFM tip and the sample.1,2 We have plotted the CPD profiles across the cross-section of the device and correlated the measured potentials with the material interface positions in the device. The topography and phase images across the cross-section of the solar cell were also observed, where the interfaces of the different layers in the device were well defined in nanoscale range. The influence of the different spectra of light on the generation and transport processes of the charge carriers inside the solar cell have been investigated here. Under steady state solar illumination, a sharp difference in electrical potential is observed across the active layers of the solar cell.3,4 The results on the distribution of the charge carriers inside the solar cells under different illuminations help to understand the basic charge transport mechanism across the interfaces which open the possibility to design the high performance solar cells in future.

References

1.  W. Melitz, J. Shen, A. C. Kummel, S. Lee, Surf. Sci. Rep 66 (2011) 1-27.

2.  J. B. Li, V. Chawla, B. M.Clemens, Adv. Mater. 24 (2012) 720-723.

3. S. Panigrahi, T. Calmeiro, R. Martins, D. Nunes, E. Fortunato, ACS Nano 10 (2016) 6139−6146.

4. S. Panigrahi, S. Jana, T. Calmeiro, D. Nunes, R. Martins, E. Fortunato, ACS Nano, 11 (2017) 10214 – 10221.

© FUNDACIO DE LA COMUNITAT VALENCIANA SCITO
We use our own and third party cookies for analysing and measuring usage of our website to improve our services. If you continue browsing, we consider accepting its use. You can check our Cookies Policy in which you will also find how to configure your web browser for the use of cookies. More info