Unbalanced Hole and Electron Diffusion in Lead Bromide Perovskites.

Elbaz, Giselle A; Straus, Daniel B; Semonin, Octavi E; Hull, Trevor D; Paley, Daniel W; Kim, Philip; Owen, Jonathan S; Kagan, Cherie R et al. · Nano Lett · 2017

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We use scanning photocurrent microscopy and time-resolved microwave conductivity to measure the diffusion of holes and electrons in a series of lead bromide perovskite single crystals, APbBr<sub>3</sub>, with A = methylammonium (MA), formamidinium (FA), and Cs. We find that the diffusion length of holes (L<sub>D</sub><sup>h+</sup> ∼ 10-50 μm) is on average an order of magnitude longer than that of electrons (L<sub>D</sub><sup>e-</sup> ∼ 1-5 μm), regardless of the A-type cation or applied bias. Furthermore, we observe a weak dependence of L<sub>D</sub> across the A-cation series MA > FA > Cs. When considering the role of the halide, we find that the diffusion of holes in MAPbBr<sub>3</sub> is comparable to that in MAPbI<sub>3</sub>, but the electron diffusion length is up to five times shorter. This study shows that the disparity between hole and electron diffusion is a ubiquitous feature of lead halide perovskites. As with organic photovoltaics, this imbalance will likely become an important consideration in the optimization of lead halide perovskite solar cells.