Perovskites are an emerging class of materials which offers a high-efficiency
photovoltaics owing to its appealing optical and electronic properties.
However, defects such as non-coordinated
ions at their grain boundaries and surfaces do contribute to non-radiative
photo-carrier recombination. This undesirably inflates the open-circuit voltage deficit and is a likely contributor to
the widely reported phenomenon of hysteresis in the current-voltage
characteristics which is set to remain at the forefront of the continuing progress towards to the theoretical PCE limit of
30%.
In this project, the candidate will have an
opportunity to explore some new interfacial engineering strategies, such as
surface passivation, grain boundary passivation and contact passivation to
eliminate the defects. This will help to increase the open circuit voltage of
the perovskite devices which will be employed to achieve champion perovskite/silicon
tandem solar cells. At the end of the internship, the candidate(s) will be
experienced the full processing steps of the perovskite solar cells and they
may have an opportunity to publish the findings in well-respected scientific
journals.