Breakthroughs in LED and Solar Cell Research 2023

The ongoing stream of high-impact research papers on LEDs and Solar Cells keeps us energized.

An impressive 35 research papers, employing our research tools, have been published so far in 2023, and we couldn't be more thankful.

Our appreciation goes out to all our customers and colleagues for trusting our research tools.

Please find below a curated selection of papers that we are excited to share with you.

If this piques your interest and leaves you wanting to know more about our products arrange to meet us at E-MRS in Strasbourg later this month and at the TandemPV International Workshop, Chambéry, France in June.

But if all this perovskite solar cell news leaves you feeling left out we have also included our excellent tutorial on how to simulate curved displays using our simulation software Laoss (which can also be used also to optimize large-area perovskite solar cells 😏).


Solar Cell & LED Research Papers

Surface in situ reconstruction of inorganic perovskite films enabling long carrier lifetimes and solar cells with 21% efficiency

Chu, X., Ye, Q., Wang, Z. et al.

Nat Energy 8, 372, (2023).

Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-023-01220-z

A protocol to fabricate inorganic perovskite (CsPbIBr) single-junction solar cells with a PCE of 21% with a surface treatment based on CsF.

Energy losses due to non-radiative recombination are one of the main problems in all-inorganic perovskites solar cells. CsF suppresses non-radiative recombination and promotes hole extraction. The defects are passivated with F ions and there is the formation of graded heterojunction which facilitates hole extraction.

By performing Impedance Spectroscopy, C-V, and photo-CELIV with the all-in-one measurement tool Paios, the researchers proved that the treated sample had reduced recombination, higher built-in voltage, and larger mobility than the untreated sample.


Open-circuit and short-circuit loss management in wide-gap perovskite p-i-n solar cells

P. Caprioglio, J. A. Smith, et al.

Nat. Commun. 14, 932 (2023).

Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-023-01220-z

Wide-gap perovskite solar cells suffer from Voc- and Jsc-deficits. Now we know the reasons and how to solve this.

Recently, Prof. Henry Snaith and collaborators demonstrated that the Voc-deficit is given by the poor band alignment at the perovskite and ETL interface. On the other side, mobile ions hinder charge extraction and this causes Jsc losses. This was demonstrated with drift-diffusion simulations.

Experimentally, they succeed to reduce voltage losses by treating the perovskite with guanidinium bromide (GuaBr) or imidazolium bromide (ImBr). With these surface treatments, they formed a low-dimensional perovskite phase at the n-interface, which suppressed the QFLS-Voc mismatch. To improve charge extraction, they modified the hole-transporting layer with an ionic interlayer (TEA-TFSI), or a self-assembled monolayer (SAM).

The team used the simulation software Setfos to demonstrate that the hole-transport layers enhance charge extraction thanks to a stronger electric field at the interface with the perovskite.


Elucidating the role of two-dimensional cations in green perovskite light emitting diodes

Aurimas Vyšniauskas, Simon Keegan et al.

Organic Electronics, 111, 106655, (2022)

Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgel.2022.106655.

What is the best organic spacer for a green perovskite LED (PeLED)?

Azhar Fakharuddun and colleagues at the University of Konstanz compared the impact of the three cations (PEA, FPEA, and BPEA) and their concentration on the EQE of LEDs based on quasi-2D perovskites.

When using an excess of FPEA compared to the anion (PbX6)4-, they obtained an EQE of 7.7%. FPEA helped in 3 different ways, i.e., it reduced the number of trap states, suppressed poorly emissive domains, and improved charge transport thanks to the smaller size.

With the angular-resolved spectrometer Phelos they could measure the EQE, current-voltage-luminance, and the EL of the PeLEDs. The lifetime of the LED was also measured with this all-in-one instrument.


An n-n Heterojunction Configuration for Efficient Electron Transport in Organic Photovoltaic Devices

Li, Y., Wu, X., Zuo, et al.

Adv. Funct. Mater., 33, 2209728, (2023)

Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202209728

Efficient Organic Solar Cells with a novel electron transport layer (ETL) to enhance electron transport and hole blocking.

Researchers at Jinan University stacked an n-type conjugated film (PNDIT-F3N) with an n-type small molecule film (Phen-NaDPO) achieving a water-fall-like alignment of electron transport energy levels.

Devices with this ETL showed an efficiency increase of 30% compared to the control devices with only PNDIT-F3N or Phen-NaDPO ETLs.

Paios was used to study charge extraction and get the recombination lifetimes with transient photocurrent (TPC) and transient photovoltage (TPV). Both parameters almost doubled in the devices with the n-n heterojunction compared to Phen-NaDPO alone.


2023 Research Conferences

Experience our innovative research tools first-hand! Join us at E-MRS 2023

Monday, May 29 - Friday, June 2, 2023.

Palais de la Musique et des Congrès , Place de Bordeaux 67082 Strasbourg

E-MRS stands as the foremost European gathering for the Materials research community, and Fluxim is delighted to be a part of it.

Not only will you have the opportunity to attend Antonio's talk (details below), but we have also sponsored a booth to facilitate conversations with both our existing customers and those interested in our tools.

Scientific Talk

The conference will cover a wide range of topics including Energy materials, Nanomaterials and advanced characterization, Biomaterials and soft materials, Electronics, magnetics and photonics, Functional Materials, and Education and training, all organized into 21 symposia and 6 clusters.

Dr. Antonio Cabas Vidani will be presenting the following talk at 14:45pm on 31st May 2023

Ageing and characterization of high-bandgap perovskites for all thin-film tandem solar cell devices.

Session: Devices and stability 2, Churchill (1st floor)


TandemPV international workshop 2023

TandemPV International Workshop 2023

Tuesday, June 6 - Thursday, June 8, 2023

Centre de Congrès Le Manège 331 Rue de la République 73000 Chambéry France

The 3rd edition of the TandemPV Workshop will be held in a hybrid format, taking place at the Convention Center Le Manège, a historically significant location located in the heart of Chambéry, France, and also online.

Poster Session

Fluxim’s Dr. Urs Aeberhard will present a poster based on the following paper:

Loss Analysis and Optimization of All-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells and Modules

Poster Sessions will take place on Tue, the 6th at 13.30 and at 13.00 on Wednesday 7th of June 2023.

The event promises to be productive, filled with engaging discussions and valuable opportunities for professional and personal exchange. We look forward to seeing many of you there.

Urs is Fluxim’s Senior Researcher so he’ll be more than happy to discuss your research on Tanden PVs and offer advice on how our research tools might boost it.


Fluxim Tutorials

Simulation of Curved backlight display units with Laoss Optics - FULL TUTORIAL

The tutorial begins with a brief introduction to the challenges of light management in curved optical elements and goes on to demonstrate how to perform simulations of curved backlight units using Laoss Optics.

Laoss Optics uses a 3D ray-tracing algorithm. Rays can be generated at the source with random angles and intensity and interact with optical components via refraction and scattering. Their intensity is attenuated according to the extinction coefficient and distance traveled in absorbing media.

The tutorial shows how to define the device layout and parametrize different domains of the interface geometry, including the bottom mirror, LED, left and right walls, and brightness enhancement film. You will also learn how to post-process the simulation results and assess optical performance.

Who would benefit from this tutorial?

It may be particularly useful for engineers and researchers working on the design and optimization of OLED car lights, flexible luminaires, and curved OLC displays. Those who are interested in learning about the simulation of light management in curved optical elements may also find this video informative.

Watch it here 👇