A synergistic Cs2CO3 ETL treatment to incorporate Cs cation into perovskite solar cells via two-step scalable fabrication

Triple cation CsFAMA perovskite films fabricated via a one-step method have recently gained attention as an outstanding light-harvesting layer for photovoltaic devices. However, questions remain over the suitability of one-step processes for the production of large-area films, owing to difficulties in controlling the crystallinity, in particular, scaling of the frequently used anti-solvent washing step. This can be mitigated through the use of the two-step method which has recently been used to produce large-area films via techniques such as slot dye coating, spray coating or printing techniques. Nevertheless, the poor solubility of Cs containing salts in IPA solutions has posed a challenge for forming triple cation perovskite films using the two-step method. In this study, we tackle this challenge through fabricating perovskite films on a caesium carbonate (Cs2CO3) precursor layer, enabling Cs incorporation within the film. Synergistically, we find that Cs2CO3 passivates the SnO2 electron transport layer (ETL) through interactions with Sn 3d orbitals, thereby promoting a reduction in trap states. Devices prepared with Cs2CO3 treatment also exhibited an improvement in the power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 19.73% in a control device to 20.96% (AM 1.5G, 100 mW cm(-2)) in the champion device. The Cs2CO3 treated devices (CsFAMA) showed improved stability, with un-encapsulated devices retaining nearly 80% efficiency after 20 days in ambient air.

Automated summary

The study focused on fabricating CsFAMA perovskite films using a Cs2CO3 precursor layer to tackle the solubility challenge in the two-step method. Additionally, Cs2CO3 passivated the SnO2 electron transport layer, reducing trap states and improving device efficiency. Cs2CO3-treated devices showed improved stability, retaining nearly 80% efficiency after 20 days in ambient air.