Cost‐Effective Transparent N‐Doped Tin Oxide Electrodes with Excellent Thermal and Chemical Stabilities Enabling Stable Perovskite Photovoltaics Based on Tin Oxide Electron Transport Layer

• Published in: Advanced energy materials Vol. 14; no. 13
• Main Authors: Seok, Hae‐Jun, Kim, Su Hyun, Yeom, Kyung Mun, Noh, Jun Hong, Kim, Han‐Ki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-04-2024
• Subjects: Electrodes; Electron mobility; Electron transport; Energy bands; Energy conversion efficiency; energy level; front transparent electrodes; Indium oxides; low‐cost; Magnetron sputtering; Nitrogen; perovskite solar cells; Perovskites; Photovoltaic cells; Solar cells; Thermal stability; Tin dioxide; Tin oxides; tin oxynitride
• ISSN: 1614-6832; 1614-6840
• DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202303859

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) incorporating chemical‐bath‐deposited (CBD) SnO2 layers have garnered considerable attention because they combine high electron mobility and low‐temperature processing, affording remarkable photovoltaic performance. However, the acidic conditions of CBD limit its compatibility with front transparent electrodes (FTEs). Herein, cost‐effective, thermally stable, and highly transparent nitrogen‐doped SnO2 (NTO) FTEs tailored to integrate with CBD‐SnO2‐based PSCs are developed. By precisely controlling the N dopant content in the magnetron sputtering process, a NTO FTE with a sheet resistance of 38.64 Ω/square, an optical transmittance of 86.17%, a smooth surface morphology (1.2 nm), and mechanical flexibility is obtained. Furthermore, doping N in SnO2 imparts thermal and chemical stability superior to those of conventional Sn‐doped In2O3 (ITO) electrodes. Additionally, a well‐matched energy band of NTO with a SnO2 electron transport layer (ETL) and homogeneous interfaces is a critical advantage. By implementing this multifaceted strategy using a novel low‐cost NTO FTE, CBD‐SnO2‐based PSCs with elevated open‐circuit voltages and energy‐barrier‐free characteristics are fabricated. A champion power conversion efficiency of 20.43% is achieved, and 93.30% of the initial efficiency is retained even after 3 000 h without encapsulation. This integration of a NTO FTE with a SnO2 ETL paves the way for robust and long‐lasting high‐performance PSCs.
An innovative, thermally/chemically stable, cost‐effective, and versatile nitrogen‐doped SnO2 (NTO) electrode is developed using a magnetron sputtering process to overcome the shortcomings of commercial FTO and ITO for chemical bath deposition (CBD)‐SnO2‐based perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The efficiency of the PSC device reaches 20.43% as a result of the well‐matched band alignment between the NTO electrode and CBD‐SnO2.