Al2O3 Underlayer Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cells, as a newly emerged solar energy conversion technology, have attracted tremendous attention in the solar cell community by demonstrating impressive enhancement in power conversion efficiencies. However, the high temperature and manually processed TiO2 underlayer prepared by spray pyrolysis has significantly limited the large-scale application and device reproducibility of the perovskite solar cells. Here, we for the first time utilize low-temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) to prepare a compact Al2O3 underlayer for perovskite solar cells. The thickness of the Al2O3 layer can be controlled well by adjusting the deposition cycles during the ALD process. An optimal Al2O3 layer can effectively block the electron recombination at the perovskite/FTO interface as well as sufficiently transport the electrons via tunneling. Perovskite solar cells fabricated with an Al2O3 layer demonstrated the highest efficiency of 16.2% for 50 cycles of ALD (~5 nm), which is a significant improvement over the underlayer free PSCs which have an efficiency of 11.0%. Detailed characterization confirms that the thickness of the Al2O3 underlayer significantly influences the charge transfer resistance and electron recombination process in the devices. Furthermore, this work successfully shows the feasibility of using a high-bandgap semiconductor like Al2O3 as the underlayer in perovskite solar cells and opens up pathways to use ALD Al2O3 underlayers for flexible solar cells.