Space-charge-limited electron and hole currents in hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites.

Sajedi Alvar, Mohammad; Blom, Paul W M; Wetzelaer, Gert-Jan A H · Nat Commun · 2020

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites are promising materials for the application in solar cells and light-emitting diodes. However, the basic current-voltage behavior for electrons and holes is still poorly understood in these semiconductors due to their mixed electronic-ionic character. Here, we present the analysis of space-charge-limited electron and hole currents in the archetypical perovskite methyl ammonium lead iodide (MAPbI<sub>3</sub>). We demonstrate that the frequency dependence of the permittivity plays a crucial role in the analysis of space-charge-limited currents and their dependence on voltage scan rate and temperature. Using a mixed electronic-ionic device model based on experimentally determined parameters, the current-voltage characteristics of single-carrier devices are accurately reproduced. Our results reveal that in our solution processed MAPbI<sub>3</sub> thin films transport of electrons dominates over holes. Furthermore, we show that the direction of the hysteresis in the current-voltage characteristics provides a fingerprint for the sign of the dominant moving ionic species.