Lead Iodide Thin Films via rf Sputtering

Author(s)

Clemente da Silva Filho, Jose Maria ^[1] ; Villegas Borrero, Nelson Fabian ^[1] ; Viana, Gustavo Alexandre ^[1] ; Merlo, Rafael Borges ^[1] ; Marques, Francisco Chagas ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Gleb Wataghin Inst Phys, BR-13083859 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Crystal Growth & Design; v. 20, n. 3, p. 1531-1537, MAR 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Lead iodide (PbI2) is a precursor for the preparation of the organolead iodide perovskite (CH3NH3PbI3), which has been used in the fabrication of highly efficient solar cells. In this work, a novel route for the deposition of PbI2 thin films is performed by rf sputtering a target made from compressed PbI2 powder. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the PbI2 films produced were uniform, pinhole-free, polycrystalline, and had low roughness. A small concentration of Pb nanocrystals observed within the films is attributed to differences in the sputtering yield of lead and iodide from the PbI2 target. A dependence of band gap on rf sputtering power was observed, which was associated with a reduction in the concentration of Pb nanocrystals. The PbI2 films were efficiently converted into CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite films through the immersion into a methylammonium iodide (MAI) solution, which also converted the remaining Pb nanocrystals into perovskite. This methodology has the potential to forge the way toward a new method for the fabrication of large-area perovskite solar cells. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/10127-5 - Research and development of nanostructured materials for electronic and surface physics applications
• Grantee: Fernando Alvarez
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants