TY - JOUR
T1 - Anomalous 3D nanoscale photoconduction in hybrid perovskite semiconductors revealed by tomographic atomic force microscopy
AU - Song, Jingfeng
AU - Zhou, Yuanyuan
AU - Padture, Nitin P.
AU - Huey, Bryan D.
N1 - Funding Information:
J.S. and B.D.H. recognize support from the Institute of Materials Science, University of Connecticut, and from the NSF (MRI development award, DMR-1726862). Y.Z. and N.P.P. acknowledge support from ONR (N00014‐17‐1‐2232) and NSF (OIA‐1538893). Y.Z. also acknowledges the support from NSF (OIA-1929019). We thank M. Hu for his assistance with the sample preparation and characterization, and A. Levin and M. Azoff-Slifstein for preliminary AFM measurements.
PY - 2020/7/3
Y1 - 2020/7/3
N2 - While grain boundaries (GBs) in conventional inorganic semiconductors are frequently considered as detrimental for photogenerated carrier transport, their exact role remains obscure for the emerging hybrid perovskite semiconductors. A primary challenge for GB-property investigations is that experimentally they need to be performed at the top surface, which is not only insensitive to depth-dependent inhomogeneities but also could be susceptible to topographic artifacts. Accordingly, we have developed a unique approach based on tomographic atomic force microscopy, achieving a fully-3D, photogenerated carrier transport map at the nanoscale in hybrid perovskites. This reveals GBs serving as highly interconnected conducting channels for carrier transport. We have further discovered the coexistence of two GB types in hybrid perovskites, one exhibiting enhanced carrier mobilities, while the other is insipid. Our approach reveals otherwise inaccessible buried features and previously unresolved conduction pathways, crucial for optimizing hybrid perovskites for various optoelectronic applications including solar cells and photodetectors.
AB - While grain boundaries (GBs) in conventional inorganic semiconductors are frequently considered as detrimental for photogenerated carrier transport, their exact role remains obscure for the emerging hybrid perovskite semiconductors. A primary challenge for GB-property investigations is that experimentally they need to be performed at the top surface, which is not only insensitive to depth-dependent inhomogeneities but also could be susceptible to topographic artifacts. Accordingly, we have developed a unique approach based on tomographic atomic force microscopy, achieving a fully-3D, photogenerated carrier transport map at the nanoscale in hybrid perovskites. This reveals GBs serving as highly interconnected conducting channels for carrier transport. We have further discovered the coexistence of two GB types in hybrid perovskites, one exhibiting enhanced carrier mobilities, while the other is insipid. Our approach reveals otherwise inaccessible buried features and previously unresolved conduction pathways, crucial for optimizing hybrid perovskites for various optoelectronic applications including solar cells and photodetectors.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087389877&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-020-17012-y
DO - 10.1038/s41467-020-17012-y
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 32620841
AN - SCOPUS:85087389877
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 11
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
M1 - 3308
ER -