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Insights in Perovskite Solar Cell Fabrication: Unraveling the Hidden Challenges of Each Layer

Verena Stockhausen,Isabel Mesquita,Luísa Andrade,Adélio Mendes

Abstract

Perovskite solar cells (PSC) are undoubtedly the most active research area in photovoltaics at this moment. Actually, since 2009 this emerging technology passed from 3.8% to the present >22% of energy conversion efficiency. Along with that, a huge amount of sometimes contradicting and incomplete information about how to prepare and characterize PSC is provided, which makes it difficult to not get lost. This paper is mainly directed toward newcomers in this area, with the goal to give orientation for PSC fabrication protocols that are quickly implementable and that lead to reliable and acceptable efficiencies. Therefore, a step-by-step analysis of each layer is provided and, within this scope, several fabrication techniques are compared in terms of efficiency optimization. Furthermore, a new and versatile alternative to laser-assisted scribing for substrate patterning is presented. Electrochemical characterization of dummy cells as an easy and versatile tool for isolated layer characterization is demonstrated for TiO2 blocking layers. After optimization of each layer, PSC with an average efficiency of (14.8 +/- 1.0)% was obtained.

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IEEE P oo IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS 1 Insigh s in Pe o ski e Sola Cell Fab ica ion: Un a eling he Hidden Challenges o Each Laye 1 2 Ve ena S ockhausen, Isabel Mesqui a, Lu´ ısa And ade, and Ad´ elio Mendes3 Abs ac —Pe o ski e sola cells (PSC) a e undoub edly he4 mos ac i e esea ch a ea in pho o ol aics a his momen .5 Ac ually, since 2009 his eme ging echnology passed om 3.8%6 o he p esen >22% o ene gy con e sion e iciency. Along wi h7 ha , a huge amoun o some imes con adic ing and incomple e8 in o ma ion abou how o p epa e and cha ac e ize PSC is9 p o ided, which makes i di icul o no ge los . This pape is10 mainly di ec ed owa d newcome s in his a ea, wi h he goal o11 gi e o ien a ion o PSC ab ica ion p o ocols ha a e quickly12 implemen able and ha lead o eliable and accep able e iciencies.13 The e o e, a s ep-by-s ep analysis o each laye is p o ided and,14 wi hin his scope, se e al ab ica ion echniques a e compa ed in15 e ms o e iciency op imiza ion. Fu he mo e, a new and e sa ile16 al e na i e o lase -assis ed sc ibing o subs a e pa e ning is17 p esen ed. Elec ochemical cha ac e iza ion o dummy cells as an18 easy and e sa ile ool o isola ed laye cha ac e iza ion is demon-19 s a ed o TiO2blocking laye s. A e op imiza ion o each laye ,20 PSC wi h an a e age e iciency o (14.8 ±1.0)% was ob ained.21 Index Te ms—Blocking laye , ab ica ion de ails, pe o mance,22 pe o ski e sola cells.23 I. INTRODUCTION24 GLOBAL ene gy consump ion is p ojec ed o aise by 48%25 om 2012 o 2040 [1], which makes he in ensi ica ion o 26 enewable ene gy implemen a ion una oidable. Among hem,27 sola ene gy p oduc ion has been he as es g owing sec o 28 wi h he bigges sha e in newly c ea ed jobs in he pas ew29 Manusc ip ecei ed Decembe 22, 2017; e ised Ap il 4, 2018; accep ed Ap il 6, 2018. This wo k was suppo ed in pa by he Eu opean Union’s Ho i- Q1 zon 2020 P og amme, h ough a FET Open esea ch and inno a ion ac ion unde G an 687008, in pa by he P ojec POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006939 (LEP- ABE - Labo a o y o P ocess Enginee ing, En i onmen , Bio echnology and Ene gy – UID/EQU/00511/2013), unded by he Eu opean Regional De elop- men Fund, h ough COMPETE2020 – P og ama Ope acional Compe i i idade e In e nacionalizac¸˜ ao (POCI) and by na ionals unds h ough FCT (Fundac¸˜ ao pa a a Ciˆ encia e a Tecnologia), and in pa by NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000005 – LEPABE-2-ECO-INNOVATION, suppo ed by No h Po ugal Regional Ope a ional P og amme (No e 2020), unde he Po ugal 2020 Pa ne ship Ag eemen , h ough he Eu opean Regional De elopmen Fund. The wo k o V. S ockhausen was suppo ed by he Eu opean Commission h ough he Se - en h F amewo k P og am, he Speci ic P og am “Ideas” o he Eu opean Re- sea ch Council o esea ch and echnological de elopmen as pa o an Ad- anced G an unde G an 321315 (BI-DSC). The wo k o I. Mesqui a was suppo ed by he FCT o he Ph.D. ellow ( e .: PD/PB/105985/2014). The wo k o L. And ade was suppo ed by he FCT (IF/01331/2015). (Co espond- ing au ho : Ad´ elio Mendes.) The au ho s a e wi h he Faculdade de Engenha ia, Uni e sidade do Po o, Po o 4200-465, Po ugal (e-mail:,[email p o ec ed]; [email p o ec ed]; [email p o ec ed]; [email p o ec ed]). Colo e sions o one o mo e o he igu es in his pape a e a ailable online a h p://ieeexplo e.ieee.o g. Digi al Objec Iden i ie 10.1109/JPHOTOV.2018.2826055 yea s [2], [3]. Besides he ma u e silicon echnology, ad anced 30 coppe indium gallium selenide and CdTe sola cells la ely en e - 31 ing he ma ke , pe o ski e sola cells (PSC) ha e been ea ning 32 a lo o a en ion due o hei s iking pe o mance e olu ion 33 since 2012 [4]. Since hen, PSC e iciencies ha e been amp- 34 ing up quickly, eaching ce i ied eco d e iciencies o 22.7% 35 o labo a o y de ices [5]; mo e ecen ly, in Feb ua y 2018, 36 G ¨ a zel epo ed 23.3% a ABXPV con e ence, Rennes [6]. De- 37 spi e he as p og ess in ab ica ing PSC wi h high e iciency, 38 s abili y has been a limi ing ac o so a . Thus, a emp ing o 39 add ess e iciency and s abili y, a huge a ie y o o mula ions 40 and cell a chi ec u es has been published. I includes plana de- 41 ices using an in e ed p-i-n a chi ec u e and PSC employing 42 a mesopo ous s uc u e ha can ei he ac i ely pa icipa e in 43 he elec on ans e (ac i e mesopo ous laye ) o me ely se e 44 as sca old s uc u e (passi e mesopo ous laye ). Wi hin pe - 45 o ski es, chemical enginee ing has o igina ed a huge quan i y 46 o mixed s uc u es, employing mixed ca ions and anions. Many 47 labo a o ies ha e been deciding o di ec esea ch e o s owa d 48 his “shoo ing s a ,” bu no all o hem we e capable o ep o- 49 duce he ou s anding esul s published in he li e a u e. E en 50 wi hou ega ding long- e m s abili y, e iciencies o en emain 51 below expec a ions because usually, c ucial echnical de ails e- 52 main ba ely explained o e en unmen ioned in esea ch a icles. 53 Thus, li le ab ica ion e o s wi hin each laye o he PSC will 54 sum up and lead o an o e all e iciency d op. The e o e, me ely 55 conside ing e iciencies o en i e de ices makes ep oduc ion o 56 published esul s a ha d ask. 57 In his pape , a s ep-by-s ep analysis o he echnical p oblems 58 o each laye is p o ided and a possible impac o hei modi i- 59 ca ion on he cell pe o mance will be assessed. In he end, he 60 cha ac e iza ion o he en i e de ice is discussed. As eco d e i- 61 ciency PSC’s gene ally possess a cell a chi ec u e wi h an ac i e 62 mesopo ous laye [7], ocus will lie on his PSC s uc u e. Fo a 63 deepe discussion abou al e na i e cell a chi ec u es, in e es ed 64 eade s a e e e ed o he in o ma i e e iew o Salim e al.[8], 65 Mesqui a e al. [9] o he ecen book w i en by Pa k e al. [10]. 66 II. MATERIALS AND METHODS 67 Fig. 1 shows a schema ic ep esen a ion o he PSC. On op o 68 a anspa en conduc i e oxide (TCO) subs a e ha was sc ibed 69 in o de o impede sho ci cui ing (g ey line), a dense TiO2laye 70 is deposi ed, ollowed by a mesopo ous laye . The adjacen pe - 71 o ski e laye pa ially in il a es in o he mesopo ous s uc u e 72 and o ms a capping laye . I is ollowed by a laye o hole 73 2156-3381 © 2018 IEEE. Pe sonal use is pe mi ed, bu epublica ion/ edis ibu ion equi es IEEE pe mission. See h p://www.ieee.o g/publica ions s anda ds/publica ions/ igh s/index.h ml o mo e in o ma ion. IEEE P oo 2IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS Fig. 1. Schema ic ep esen a ion o a mesoscopic PSC in c oss sec ion (le ) and op iew ( igh ). anspo ma e ial (HTM); inally, a nanome ic me allic laye 74 se es as a cu en collec o .75 In he ollowing, laye ab ica ion de ails and, when applica-76 ble, al e na i e ab ica ion me hods a e p esen ed. Fu he mo e,77 i will be discussed wha equipmen is equi ed o cell ab ica-78 ion and which equipmen acquisi ion can be pos poned, hanks79 o al e na i e ab ica ion p o ocols.80 A. Subs a e P epa a ion81 Fluo ide-doped in oxide (FTO) subs a es (2.2 mm hick-82 ness, TEC7, Sola onix) we e pa e ned ia Ve saLase (VLS83 2.30, Uni e sal Lase Sys ems, USA) o c ea e wo sepa a e84 cha ge collec ion a eas on he FTO subs a e—me hod (A). As85 an al e na i e o lase sc ibing, which equi es he a ailabili y86 o such an equipmen , an elec ochemical educ i e ea men 87 can be pe o med o emo e selec i ely he conduc i e laye —88 me hod (B). Keep in o conside a ion ha he chemicals used89 o ha pu pose a e highly co osi e, which equi es adequa e90 p o ec ion and ca e. In o de o do so, he subs a e a ea o TCO91 emo al was delimi ed by Kap on ape and exposed oa3M92 HCl solu ion. A cons an po en ial o −2.4 V was applied un il93 ca hodic cu en dec ease s a ed o la en. Meanwhile, he in94 oxide o he FTO u ned g ey and s a ed o peel o ; samples95 we e emo ed om he solu ion and insed wi h wa e . Wi h96 a co on swab dipped in a dilu ed ni ic acid solu ion (0.5 M),97 emaining in esidues we e cleaned o . Then, Kap on ape was98 emo ed and samples we e abundan ly insed wi h wa e .99 In a nex s ep, samples we e mechanically cleaned, using a100 oo hb ush and a 10 % Hellmanex III (Hellma GmbH, Ge many)101 solu ion. Subsequen ly, subs a es we e abundan ly insed wi h102 wa e and sonica ed in e hanolic KOH solu ion o 5 min. The103 subs a es we e again abundan ly insed wi h wa e and son-104 ica ed in wa e o 5 min, be o e being insed wi h ace one105 and d ied in ni ogen lux. P io o blocking laye deposi ion,106 subs a es we e addi ionally cleaned o 20 min by an ozone107 cleane (UVO-Cleane , Jeligh Company Inc., USA). Al e na-108 i ely o an ozone cleane , plasma ea men can be applied [11],109 among o he e icien me hods.110 B. Elec on Blocking (BL) and Mesopo ous Laye P epa a ion111 TiO2blocking laye was deposi ed by wo di e en me hods.112 Me hod (A) was done by spincoa ing o a comme cial solu ion113 (Ti-Nanoxide BL/SC, Sola onix, Swi ze land) (5000 /min, 30 s, 114 2000 ( /min)/s). Be o e ilm deposi ion, he a ea o pho oan- 115 ode con ac was p o ec ed by adhesi e s ip (Sco ch Magic 116 Tape, 3M) and he ilms we e subsequen ly calcined a 550 °C117 o 1 h, unde applica ion o a s epwise empe a u e inc ease 118 o 100 °C each 10 min. Me hod (B) employed sp ay py ol- 119 ysis o a p ecu so solu ion con aining 0.56 M ace ylace one 120 (Sigma-Ald ich, 99.6%) and 0.18 M i anium diisop opoxide 121 bis(ace ylace ona e) (Sigma-Ald ich, 75 w .% in isop opanol) 122 in 7 mL isop opanol (Sigma-Ald ich, anhyd ous, 99.5%) ha 123 was su icien o 64 samples. He e, subs a es we e p ehea ed 124 a 450 °C and he pho oanode a ea was p o ec ed wi h a glass 125 s ipe be o e applying he sp ay ia an a omize , using ei he ai 126 o oxygen as ca ie gas. A e wa d, samples we e le o 45 min 127 mo e a ha empe a u e. Fo applica ion o mesopo ous TiO2,128 a comme cial pas e (gene ally 30-NR-D, Dyesol, Aus alia, un- 129 less o he wise s a ed) was dilu ed in pu e e hanol (1:6 w/w) and 130 applied on he subs a es ia spincoa ing (5000 /min, 10 s, 2000 131 ( /min)/s). P io o deposi ion, pho oanode con ac had been 132 p o ec ed by adhesi e s ipes. Samples we e hen immedia ely 133 ans e ed on a hea pla e a 100 °C o p ed ying be o e being 134 calcined in a u nace a 500 °C o 30 min. Subsequen ly, sam- 135 ples we e ans e ed o oxygen- ee and d y condi ions (glo e 136 box) be o e allowing o cool below 100 °C. 137 C. Pe o ski e Ac i e Laye P epa a ion 138 The pe o ski e p ecu so solu ion was p epa ed acco ding o 139 he ollowing condi ions published by Saliba e al. [12]: 1.1 M 140 PbI2(Sigma-Ald ich, 99.999% ace me al basis), 0.2 M PbB 2141 (Sigma-Ald ich, 99.999% ace me al basis), 0.2 M me hylam- 142 monium b omide (Dyesol), and 1.0 M o mamidinium iodide 143 (Dyesol) we e dissol ed in 1 mL o a DMF/DMSO mix u e (8:2 144 / , bo h Sigma-Ald ich, 99.8 and ࣙ99.9%, espec i ely). F om Q2145 his solu ion, 0.95 mL we e added o 0.05 mL o a 1.5 M CsI 146 s ock solu ion in DMSO (Sigma-Ald ich, 99.999% ace me als 147 basis). This inal solu ion was deposi ed on he subs a es by 148 applying a wo-s ep spincoa ing p og am (s ep 1: 1000 /min, 149 10 s, 200 ( /min)/s, s ep 2: 6000 /min, 30 s, 2000 ( /min)/s). 150 A e 25 s, 100 µL chlo obenzene was pou ed on o he spinning 151 subs a e, a p ocedu e which is known as an isol en echnique. 152 Ca e ul adjus men o d ipping speed and ip- o-sample dis ance 153 had o be ained o ab ica e samples in a ep oducible manne . 154 IEEE P oo STOCKHAUSEN e al.: INSIGHTS IN PSC FABRICATION: UNRAVELING THE HIDDEN CHALLENGES OF EACH LAYER 3 Samples appea ed b own immedia ely a e spincoa ing and155 we e subsequen ly sin e ed a 100 °C o 40 min be o e be-156 ing allowed o cool down. A e each deposi ion, he in e io o 157 he spin coa e was cleaned wi h a clo h o emo e he condensed158 chemicals.159 D. Hole Conduc ing Laye and Cu en Collec o 160 Two di e en hole conduc o s we e es ed: me hod161 (A) spi o-OMeTAD solu ion con ained 75 mM spi o-162 OMeTAD (Chembo un, 99.7% sublimed g ade), 0.24 M163 4- e -bu ylpy idine (Sigma-Ald ich, 96 %), 41 mM li hium164 bis i luo ome hanesul onimida e (Li-TFSI, Ac os O ganics)165 ha was ob ained om a 1.8 M s ock solu ion in ace oni ile166 (Sigma-Ald ich, 99.999 % elec onic g ade), and 27 mM FK167 209 Co(III) TFSI sal (Dyesol) ha was ob ained om a 0.27168 M s ock solu ion in ace oni ile. The solu ion was deposi ed169 ia spincoa ing (4000 /min, 20 s, 2000 ( /min)/s). Me hod (B):170 P3HT solu ion was ab ica ed om 15 mg/mL P3HT (Chem-171 bo un China), 23 mM 4- e -bu ylpy idine, and 0.7 mM Li-172 TFSI. I was deposi ed by spincoa ing (3000 /min, 30 s, 2000173 ( /min)/s). A e wa d, pho oanode con ac s co e ed wi h pe -174 o ski e and hole conduc o we e mechanically cleaned wi h175 a scalpel and co on swabs dipped in ace oni ile. Finally, a176 60-nm- hick gold laye as cu en collec o was applied h ough177 a s ainless s eel mask by wo di e en me hods: 1) by he -178 mal e apo a ion on a Vapo S a ion 4 (Ox o d Vacuum Science,179 U.K.), applying a deposi ion a e o 0.01 nm/s o he i s 4 nm,180 ollowed by 0.1 nm/s o he emaining hickness; and 2) by181 spu e ing using a Leica EM ACE200 (Leica Mic osys ems,182 Ge many) and applying a cu en o 60 mA and a deposi ion183 du a ion o 360 s. A mask o adhesi e black ape wi h an ac i e184 a ea o 0.2 cm2was applied on he glass side o he cell p io o185 pho oelec ochemical cha ac e iza ion.186 E. Dummy Cell P epa a ion187 The p epa a ion was analogous o PSC, howe e , applying188 me ely blocking laye , hole anspo laye , and gold laye by189 he mal e apo a ion.190 F. Cha ac e iza ion191 Fo pho oelec ochemical cha ac e iza ion, a 150-W sola 192 simula o O iel class A sola simula o , (Newpo , USA) using193 a 1.5 ai mass il e (Newpo , USA) was employed. The e ec-194 i e i adia ion in ensi y was measu ed wi h a single c ys al Si195 pho odiode (Newpo , USA). I–V cu es we e eco ded wi h a196 po en ios a (Zennium, Zahne -Elek ik GmbH, Ge many) a a197 scan a e o 10 mV/s, sweeping om open-ci cui o sho -ci cui 198 po en ial (backwa d scan). Be o e each measu emen , he open-199 ci cui po en ial VOC was allowed o s abilize unde i adia ion,200 which gene ally ook less han a minu e. Ca e was aken ha 201 s a ing po en ials we e chosen o be no mo e han 20 mV su-202 pe io o VOC in o de o p o ec he cell [13]. A leas h ee203 cells o each ype we e es ed o a e aged e iciencies. SEM204 images we e eco ded wi h a Quan a 400 FEG (FEI, USA) a 205 he CEMUP ma e ials analysis cen e o he Uni e si y o Po o.206 III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 207 FTO on glass is usually employed as anspa en conduc i e 208 subs a e, due o i s s abili y owa d ele a ed empe a u es. Se - 209 e al shee esis ances a e a ailable on he ma ke and gene ally 210 FTO wi h a shee esis ance o 7–10 Ω/sq is chosen, as i is a 211 good comp omise in e ms o conduc i i y e sus anspa ency. 212 Tho ough subs a e cleaning is an essen ial s ep and o en unde - 213 a ed; howe e , i plays a pi o al ole as he pe o ski e sola cell 214 is cons i u ed by se e al laye s ha a e all wi hin he nanome e 215 scale and any con amina ion o he subs a e will hus lead o 216 ilm de ec s ha lowe o e all cell e iciency. The sc ibing o he 217 subs a e locally emo es he TCO laye and impedes he elec- 218 ic sho ci cui h ough he subs a e o he pho oanode and he 219 ca hode. I is o en ob ained by lase abla ion o he conduc i e 220 laye bu no e e y labo a o y possesses a sui able equipmen . 221 A low-cos al e na i e is chemical e ching o he conduc i e 222 laye [14], hough i leads o a he inhomogeneous FTO e- 223 mo al. A e y e sa ile and inno a i e, ye low-cos s a egy is 224 he elec ochemical educ i e ea men o he FTO, which leads 225 o a clean and comple e FTO emo al on he exposed a eas [15]. 226 The compac n- ype i anium dioxide ilm ac s as an elec on- 227 selec i e laye and hus p e en s he ecombina ion o exci ons 228 a he TCO su ace. I his laye is absen , no dense enough 229 o possesses pinholes, he ab ica ed cells will show dec eased 230 e iciencies due o ecombina ion e en s. A he same ime, i 231 has o be hin enough o p o ide e icien elec on anspo by 232 minimizing cha ge accumula ion and he e o e ecombina ion. 233 The so-called blocking laye can be ab ica ed by se e al ways, 234 including, bu no es ic ing o chemical ba h deposi ion [16], 235 spincoa ing [4], [17], sp ay py olysis [12], [18], [19], spu e ing 236 [20], [21], elec on-beam e apo a ion [22], and a omic laye de- 237 posi ion [23], [24]. We decided o compa e TiO2blocking laye s 238 ob ained by sp ay py olysis and spincoa ing o a comme cial so- 239 lu ion (Ti-Nanoxide BL/SC, Sola onix, Swi ze land). An easy 240 means o check i he elec ochemical beha io o he blocking 241 laye ollows a diode-like beha io is o ab ica e dummy cells. 242 Such cells a e composed o he compac TiO2laye on op o he 243 TCO subs a e, a hole- anspo laye like spi o-OMeTAD and 244 a gold con ac , hus simila o a pe o ski e cell, howe e wi h- 245 ou any pho oac i e laye . Cyclic ol amme y (CV) has been 246 pe o med on dummy cells wi h di e en BL and he esul s a e 247 shown in Fig. 2(a). In he case o a BL made by sp ay py olysis, 248 he CV shows ze o anodic cu en and a s eep inc ease o he 249 ca hodic cu en which sugges s a dense and pinhole- ee laye 250 wi h high elec onic conduc i i y. In case o he BL o med by 251 spin coa ing, he CV shows, in addi ion o he ca hodic cu en 252 inc ease a lowe po en ial, a sluggish ca hodic and anodic cu - 253 en e olu ion ac oss he en i e po en ial window, which is an 254 indica ion o pinholes. Fo compa ison, he CV o a dummy 255 cell wi hou any blocking laye demons a es a ypical ohmic 256 beha io , p o ing he absence o any blocking e ec a posi i e 257 po en ial. The PSC co esponding o he BL ab ica ion me hods 258 show I–V cu es ha unde line he ex emely impo an ole o 259 he blocking laye . The cell wi h he BL made by sp ay py oly- 260 sis shows bes e iciencies, whe eas ha made wi h spincoa ed 261 blocking laye pe o ms wo se. The cell wi hou any BL shows 262 IEEE P oo 4IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS Fig. 2. (a) CV o dummy cells wi hou blocking laye (g ey diamonds), blocking laye made by spincoa ing ( ed ci cles) and by sp ay py olysis (black squa es). (b) I–V cu es o PSC wi h a blocking laye made by sp ay py olysis (black squa es), spincoa ing o a comme cial solu ion ( ed ci cles) and wi hou any blocking laye (g ey diamonds) a 0.95 sun. Fig. 3. (a) Scanning elec on mic oscopy images ( op- iew) o a ba e TCO subs a e. (b) TiO2compac laye deposi ed by sp ay py olysis. (c) Spincoa ing o a comme cial solu ion. Black ba s co espond o 2 µm. TABLE I EFFICIENCIES AND I–V CHARACTERISTICS OF PSC WITH COMPACT TIO2MADE BY SPRAY PYROLYSIS USING DIFFERENT CARRIER GASES he lowes e iciencies ha , howe e , a e no ze o. The eason263 is ha he pe o ski e laye i sel is an elec on anspo e [17]264 as well as i is capable o anspo holes [25], [26]. This en-265 de s he TCO-pe o ski e in e ace in o a nonselec i e con ac 266 ha p omo es ecombina ion and he e o e leads o dec eased267 e iciencies.268 Images o he di e en blocking laye s eco ded by scanning269 elec on mic oscopy show some undamen al di e ences, see270 Fig. 3. The laye deposi ed by sp ay py olysis is a he hin and271 homogeneous, whe eas he laye deposi ed by spin coa ing is272 hicke and shows c acks, see Fig. 3(c) (uppe igh co ne ). I 273 can be concluded ha PSC wi h a BL ab ica ed by sp ay py-274 olysis show supe io e iciencies and he e o e, his ab ica ion275 me hod migh be ecommended. The in luence o he ca ie gas276 on cell e iciencies was u he es ed bu i came ou ha pu e277 oxygen did no imp o e cell e iciencies, see Table I. Due o 278 lack o deposi ion con ol, BL hickness may a y be ween 30 279 and 80 nm, as occasional SEM c oss sec ions showed. Howe e , 280 no co ela ed impac on PSC e iciency could be s a ed. 281 Mesopo ous i ania laye has been employed in dye-sensi ized 282 sola cells (DSSC), wi h he unc ion o inc ease he ac i e su - 283 ace a ea and anspo elec ons unde ligh exci a ion [27]. As 284 he ini ial pe o ski e sola cells we e hough as a con inui y o 285 DSSC, a mesopo ous i ania ilm also was applied he e, e en i 286 he ex inc ion coe icien o pe o ski es such as (CH3NH3)PbI3287 is abou en imes highe han ha o N719 dye [28]. As 288 a consequence, he necessi y o ac i e su ace inc ease is 289 u ned obsole e. Thus, PSC wi hou mesopo ous laye , so-called 290 plana de ices, ha e been de eloped, hough hei e iciencies 291 we e lagging behind hose employing a mesopo ous laye o 292 IEEE P oo STOCKHAUSEN e al.: INSIGHTS IN PSC FABRICATION: UNRAVELING THE HIDDEN CHALLENGES OF EACH LAYER 5 Fig. 4. I–V cu e o cells wi h a mesopo ous TiO2 laye made om 30NR- D pas e (a e age pa icle size o 30 nm, black squa es) and om 18-NR-T pas e (a e age pa icle size o 20 nm, ed ci cles) a 0.94 sun. Bo h pas es we e pu chased om Dyesol L d. a long ime [7]. Only ecen ly, he e iciency gap has become293 a he small, which is due o imp o ed in e ace enginee ing [7],294 [18], [29]. Beside highe e iciencies, PSC wi h a mesopo ous295 laye show educed e iciency de ia ion be ween o wa d and296 backwa d scan, a phenomenon desc ibed as hys e esis [19], [30],297 [31]. When Snai h e al. demons a ed ha e en wi h meso-298 po ous laye s o alumina, a ma e ial ha canno pa icipa e in299 elec on ans e due o band ene gy misma ch, high e iciencies300 o 15.9% could be ob ained [32], i was deduced ha he meso-301 po ous laye mainly ul ills a s uc u al ole o c ys al g ow h302 and geome y de e mina ion, e en i e icien elec on injec ion303 om he pe o ski e in o he TiO2mesopo ous laye was epo ed304 [33]. Howe e , la es esul s demons a e ha ionic mig a ion a 305 he pe o ski e/TiO2in e ace, which is esponsible o cha ge306 accumula ion and he e o e ecombina ion e en s, is educed o 307 e en supp essed in he p esence o he TiO2mesopo ous laye 308 [34]. As hys e esis also depends on ionic mig a ion [35]–[38],309 i s educ ion in he p esence o mesopo ous TiO2is he conse-310 quence. Pu ing all oge he , bes esul s ha e been achie ed so311 a using a hin TiO2mesopo ous laye and a pe o ski e cap-312 ping laye ha p e en s ecombina ion be ween TiO2and he313 hole anspo laye [33], [34].314 The e exis se e al comme cial pas es wi h di e en sizes o 315 TiO2pa icles and he e o e, i was decided o compa e wo316 di e en pa icle sizes, namely one possessing 20 nm and one317 wi h 30 nm a e age pa icle diame e . The same pas e dilu ion318 a io in pu e e hanol (1:6) as well as he same deposi ion and319 sin e ing condi ions we e applied. Fig. 4 shows ha bo h meso-320 po ous laye s lead o e y compa able cell e iciencies ha a e321 wi hin he e o scale. This poin s owa d a highe ole ance and322 owa d a mesopo ous laye a chi ec u e, as long as he pa icle323 size emains simila .324 Wi hin pe o ski e ma e ials, he e exis s a huge a ie y o 325 ecipes and deposi ion echniques, which a e well summa ized326 in he book by Pa k e al. [10] and in he e iew by Song e al.327 [39]. I migh be no an easy ask o decide o he sui able328 pe o ski e ype and ab ica ion p ocess. The name pe o ski e329 e e s o a c ys alline s uc u e o he ype ABX3, A and B be-330 ing ca ions and X an anion. The pe o ski e class sui able o 331 sola cells is an o ganic lead halide, wi h A being gene ally an 332 o ganic ca ion, B being he lead ion, and X being a halogen, 333 usually b omine, iodide, chlo ine, and mix u es he eo . Lead 334 subs i u ion by in and ge manium analogs leads o pe o ski es 335 wi h se e e s abili y p oblems [32], [40], [41] and he e o e will 336 no be add essed he e. Ou ocus was o de e mine a pe o ski e 337 o mula ion easy o implemen and ha esul s in ep oducible 338 pe o ski e laye s wi h enhanced s abili y. Many esul s ha e 339 been published wi h monoca ionic pe o ski es, howe e , wi h 340 some inhe en limi a ions ha a e b ie ly exposed he e: MAPbI3341 has been in ensi ely s udied [42] bu has some d awbacks such 342 as weak s abili y owa d mois u e [43], [44] and empe a u e 343 [45]. Fo mamidinium (FA) was p oposed as al e na i e ca ion; 344 howe e , i s pe o ski e analog FAPbI3c ys allizes in he pho- 345 oinac i e phase below 60 °C [46], such as he ino ganic ca ion 346 analog CsPbI3[47]. Whe eas se e al g oups obse ed imp o ed 347 s abili y o he pho oac i e phase upon using bina y mixed ca ion 348 pe o ski es [48]–[52], Saliba e al. decided o combine he h ee 349 ca ions in a pe o ski e and achie ed high e iciencies (>20%) 350 on a e y ep oducible basis [12]. 351 Se e al me hods exis o solu ion-p ocessed ilm ab ica ion, 352 he mos common being simple sp eading o he pe o ski e p e- 353 cu so solu ion on he subs a e, also known as one-s ep depo- 354 si ion. Howe e , ilms wi h poo su ace con ol and he e o e 355 huge e iciency a ia ions gene ally eme ge [42]. A mo e so- 356 phis ica ed app oach is he sequen ial s ep deposi ion, whe e 357 he me al halide is i s deposi ed and annealed be o e being 358 b ough in con ac wi h he ammonium sal as apo o in solu- 359 ion [42], [53]. Ne e heless, se e al d awbacks o his deposi- 360 ion me hod we e expe ienced in ou g oup, such as incomple e 361 con e sion o he me al halide o pa ial dissolu ion o he pe - 362 o ski e du ing he subsequen washing s ep. Fu he mo e, i is 363 mo e ime-consuming as i equi es wo sin e ing s eps. The 364 an isol en echnique was in oduced in 2014 by he g oup o 365 Seok [19] and since hen, i has been he me hod o choice o 366 subsequen ly published eco d e iciencies [7]. I is qui e simple 367 o implemen and equi es only one p ecu so solu ion, whe eas 368 he c ys alliza ion o he pe o ski e is ini ia ed by adding a so- 369 called an isol en . This an isol en is chosen no o dissol e he 370 pe o ski e on one side and o displace he sol en o he la e on 371 he o he side. The main d awback o his deposi ion me hod is 372 i s a isanal aspec , equi ing a ce ain deg ee o aining be o e 373 eaching enhanced ep oducibili y. Howe e , smoo h pe o ski e 374 ilms wi h homogeneous composi ion and la ge g ain bounda ies 375 a e ob ained a e a sho aining ime. Fig. 5(a) shows a c oss 376 sec ion o a PSC wi h he monoli hic pe o ski e capping laye 377 on op o he mesopo ous TiO2laye wi h g ains g owing om 378 he bo om o he op and which a e hough o enhance cha ge 379 anspo , acco ding o Saliba e al. [12]. The op iew o he 380 pe o ski e laye [see Fig. 5(b)]shows g ains possessing diame- 381 e s be ween 200 and 500 nm, which is in good ag eemen wi h 382 he o iginal epo [12]. 383 One o he bigges de imen al ac o s o pe o ski e ab- 384 ica ion and s abili y is a mosphe ic humidi y, oge he wi h 385 oxygen [54]. PSC ha a e mean o exhibi p olonged s abili y 386 equi e ab ica ion and s o age in ine a mosphe e o de ice 387 encapsula ion a e ab ica ion [55], [56]. The e o e, PSC a e 388 IEEE P oo 6IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS TABLE II BEST AND AVERAGE EFFICIENCIES FOR PSC, WHILE THE PEROVSKITE LAYER WAS FABRICATED WITHIN DIFFERENT CONDITIONS Fig. 5. SEM images. (a) C oss sec ion o he en i e PSC de ice showing he compac TiO2laye (ca. 80 nm), ollowed by he mesopo ous laye o 150– 200 nm. The adjacen pe o ski e laye pa ially in il a es in o he mesopo ous s uc u e and i s capping laye has a hickness o 200–300 nm. The spi o- MeOTAD hole anspo laye (da k g ey) has a hickness o 130–190 nm, ollowed by a 60-nm- hick gold laye as cu en collec o (ligh g ey). (b) Top iew o he pe o ski e laye , showing g ains wi h ca. 200–500 nm diame e . The issu es e ol ed du ing image cap u e and he e o e a e belie ed o be due o imaging. Ba s co espond o 1 µm. gene ally ab ica ed in glo e boxes wi h d y and oxygen- ee389 a mosphe e. And no only ha , also he subs a es should be390 absolu ely mois u e- ee. A e sin e ing he mesopo ous laye ,391 subs a es should hus be handled only in d y a mosphe e o 392 ans e ed o d y a mosphe e such as a glo e box be o e cooling393 below 150 °C. Wi hin he deg ada ion mechanism o pe o ski eQ3 394 s uc u es, oxygen only in e e es subsequen ly o hyd a a ion395 [56] and can he e o e be conside ed less c i ical i mois u e is396 absen o e y low. Labo a o ies ha a e newcome s in his a ea397 o esea ch migh no possess a glo e box in as uc u e. Low398 a mosphe ic humidi y le els a e assumed o be less c i ical o399 pe o ski e ab ica ion bu hese condi ions depend s ongly on400 he geog aphic localiza ion, he season, and some mo e inhe -401 en ac o s. To demons a e he e ec o mois u e and oxygen402 a mosphe e on pe o ski e o ma ion, a compa a i e es o PSC403 de ices ha we e ab ica ed inside and ou side he glo e box404 ( ela i e humidi y ou side he glo e box: 58%) was pe o med.405 The esul s a e displayed in Fig. 6 and Table II and i can be406 obse ed ha in case o pe o ski e being ab ica ed in ambi-407 en a mosphe e, he ac i e laye showed a ligh e colo and he408 co esponding PSC showed a bo h lowe VOC and JSC, whe eas409 he ill ac o emained a he unin luenced. As a s a egy o410 minimize wa e up ake by he subs a e, samples we e hea ed411 o 100 °C immedia ely be o e he pe o ski e p ecu so solu-412 ion was deposi ed. Co esponding PSC showed an imp o ed413 VOC and JSC, howe e he ill ac o dec eased. This is likely414 due o inhomogeneous c ys al g ow h, induced by he ele a ed415 empe a u e o he subs a e. Fo he bes cells ob ained, a li -416 Fig. 6. I–V cu es o PSC ab ica ed in a glo e box wi h 0% ela i e humidi y a 25 °C (black squa es), a ambien humidi y (58% ela i e humidi y) a 25 °C (g ey diamonds), and a ambien humidi y wi h subs a e p ehea ing a 100 °C ( ed ci cles) wi h an inciden ligh in ensi y o 0.94 sun. Image: Sample wi h pe o ski e p oduced inside (le ) and ou side he glo e box ( igh ) a 25 °C. le imp o emen can be s a ed when ho subs a es we e used, 417 hough a e age e iciencies came ou o be e y simila o hose 418 wi hou hea ea men . 419 This s udy shows ha i is highly ecommended o wo k 420 wi h a glo e box, p o iding e y low humidi y (<0.002% el. 421 humidi y) and oxygen le els. Ano he possible s a egy migh 422 be he use o a pe o ski e o mula ion ha is op imized owa d 423 enhanced esis ance a ele a ed humidi y le els [57]. 424 A op he pho oac i e laye , he hole conduc ing laye selec- 425 i ely anspo s he holes o he cu en collec o and he e o e 426 ul ills he complemen a y ole o he TiO2laye . I has o be 427 pinhole- ee o inhibi con ac o he cu en collec o wi h he 428 pe o ski e laye , o he same easons ha we e al eady s essed 429 ou conce ning he elec on conduc ing laye . Gene ally, a o - 430 mula ion using spi o-OMeTAD is used ha con ains, among o h- 431 e s, he ionic liquid LiTFSI o inc ease hole conduc i i y. How- 432 e e , bo h LiTFSI and spi o-OMeTAD ha e hyd ophilic p ope - 433 ies and p omo e humidi y inges ion, leading o poo humidi y 434 s abili y o he en i e de ice. A empe a u es abo e 55 °C, he 435 molecula hole anspo e c ys allizes, which se e ely a ec s 436 cell e iciencies. Two di e en hole conduc o laye s we e com- 437 pa ed owa d hei s abili y, namely spi o-oMeTAD as molecula 438 HTL and poly(3-hexyl hiophene) (P3HT) as polyme ic HTL. 439 IEEE P oo STOCKHAUSEN e al.: INSIGHTS IN PSC FABRICATION: UNRAVELING THE HIDDEN CHALLENGES OF EACH LAYER 7 Fig. 7. (a) I–V cu es o PSC employing spi o-OMeTAD (black squa es) and P3HT ( ed ci cles) as HTL a 0.95 sun. (b) No malized e iciency s abili y o PSC using wo PSC wi h spi o-OMeTAD (black squa es and g ey diamonds) and wo wi h P3HT ( ed ci cles and blue iangles). The ha ched g een a ea indica es a de ia ion less han 5% om he ini ial e iciency. Fig. 8. I–V cu es o PSC possessing a gold cu en collec o made by he mal e apo a ion (black line) and by spu e ing ( ed line) a 0.93 sun. I u ns ou ha spi o-OMeTAD leads o be e e iciencies,440 see Fig. 7(a), showing be e cu en densi y, open-ci cui po-441 en ial, and ill ac o al oge he . A po en ial ad an age could442 lie in an enhanced s abili y despi e lowe e iciency when P3HT443 is employed, bu he expe imen al da a could no con i m his444 assump ion, see Fig. 7(b), wi hin he limi ed ime ame.445 Gene ally, cu en collec o s a e made o gold despi e i s446 highe cos , as al e na i e me als such as Ag and Al ha e been447 demons a ing weak s abili ies [58]–[60]. Among gold depo-448 si ion me hods, one o he mos common ones a e spu e ing449 and he mal e apo a ion. Howe e , almos all published wo ks450 use he mal e apo a ion. We decided he e o e o compa e gold451 ilms wi h simila hickness ha we e ab ica ed by hese wo452 echniques. Indeed, he mal e apo a ion leads o a be e o e all453 cell pe o mance, see Fig. 8.454 The eason o he wo se pe o mance o PSC wi h spu e ed455 cu en collec o was e idenced by doing a sco ch es . While456 in case o he mal e apo a ion, he gold laye could be easily 457 s ipped o , in case o spu e ing deposi ion, he gold emained 458 s uck in o HTM. E en a e dissol ing he HTM laye , gold 459 aces we e s ill de ec ed wi h he naked eye inside he pe - 460 o ski e laye . This means ha du ing he gold laye deposi ion, 461 su ace bomba dmen p o okes pene a ion o gold deep in o 462 he de ice s uc u e, c ea ing ecombina ion cen e s. Thus, a 463 he mal e apo a o is needed o e icien pe o ski e sola cell 464 ab ica ion, e en i his s ep conside ably inc eases he ene gy 465 payback ime o PSC [61]. 466 Following all he laye ab ica ion s eps men ioned be o e, 467 i was possible o ab ica e PSC wi h an a e age e iciency o 468 (14.8 ±1.0)% o a se o 49 cells, see Fig. 9 le . 469 In labo a o y condi ions, cell e iciencies a e gene ally mea- 470 su ed o cell ac i e a eas in e io o 1 cm2. The cell a ea de- 471 limi ed by he deposi ion o he cu en collec o should be only 472 sligh ly supe io o he ac i e cell a ea (delimi ed by a mask) o 473 a oid ecombina ion e en s. Ins ead o using c ocodile clamps 474 a bi a ily connec ed o he cell, a sui able sample holde is 475 p e e able, see Fig. 9 igh , o maximal ep oducibili y. Among 476 all ac o s ha desc ibe he cell’s pe o mance, he maximum 477 powe poin (MPP) is he mos aluable in o ma ion in e ms o 478 applicabili y in sola de ices as i desc ibes bes he ope a ing 479 pa ame e s o he cell [7], [13], [62]. The MPP is ob ained ia 480 ma hema ic ex ac ion om I–Vcu es and su p isingly has no 481 ye gained big a en ion in published scien i ic wo ks. I–Vcu es 482 a e gene ally ob ained by dynamic scanning o ex e nal loads 483 hough ca e mus be aken ha he scan a e does no o e pass 484 he dynamic elec ochemical e en s inside he pe o ski e cell. 485 An example is gi en in Fig. 10, whe e a PSC was measu ed 486 a se e al scan a es. I me ely he I–V cu e is conside ed o 487 e iciency de e mina ion, bes esul s a e ob ained wi h a scan 488 a e o 1 V/s. Bu i CV o he same cell a e eco ded a 10 mV/s 489 and a 1 V/s, a s iking di e ence is obse ed conce ning he 490 hys e esis, see Fig. 11. Whe eas hys e esis is a he low in he 491 o me case, i conside ably inc eases in he la e case. This 492 IEEE P oo 8IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS Fig. 9. E iciency dis ibu ion o all cells ab ica ed in s anda d condi ions (le ) and cell a chi ec u e wi h es ing de ice o ep oducible es ing condi ions ( igh ). Fig. 10. I–V cu es and e iciencies o a PSC eco ded a di e en scan a es a 0.98 sun: 10 mV/s (black squa es), 100 mV/s ( ed ci cles), 1 V/s (g ey diamonds). Fig. 11. Hys e esis o a PSC eco ded a a scan a e o 10 mV/s (black squa es) and 1 V/s ( ed ci cles) a 0.98 sun. means ha i he I–V cu e is eco ded in backwa d scan in such 493 condi ions, he ob ained esul s do no e lec he cell’s eal be- 494 ha io and he e o e lead o o e es ima ion o cell pe o mance 495 [7], [13]. Lacking so a easily implemen able measu emen 496 p o ocols o MPP acking, condi ions o I–V cu e eco ding 497 should be ca e ully chosen, wi h he goal o no o e es ima e 498 eal cell cha ac e is ics. 499 IV. CONCLUSION 500 PSC ep esen a e y a ac i e pho o ol aic echnology, as 501 innume ous publica ions ha e demons a ed, howe e ini ia ing 502 in his a ea may be a ha d ask. PSC a e made o se e al hin 503 laye s and no only each laye , bu also each in e ace plays 504 an impo an ole o he manu ac u ing o e icien de ices. 505 This pape is mainly di ec ed owa d esea ch g oups and sci- 506 en is s ha a e beginne s in his ac i e ield o esea ch and as 507 such, i was in ended o poin ou ab ica ion de ails ha emain 508 ba ely discussed in mos publica ions, bu ha a e signi ican 509 o he p epa a ion o e icien cells. I was e idenced ha be- 510 sides he usual equipmen o hin- ilm p epa a ion (ho pla e, 511 spin coa e , p og ammable u nace, e c.) and pho oelec ochem- 512 ical cha ac e iza ion (po en ios a o a iable ex e nal load, sola 513 simula o ), a glo e box and a he mal e apo a o o he depo- 514 si ion o he gold cu en collec o a e s ongly ad ised. The 515 goal o his pape is o analyze and op imize each laye and, as 516 a consequence, demons a e hei in luence on he en i e PSC 517 de ice. 518 I was e idenced by expe imen s ha o PSC pe o ming 519 bes , blocking laye has o be ab ica ed ia sp ay py olysis, 520 whe eas compa able esul s we e ob ained when pu e oxygen o 521 ai was used as ca ie gas. Fo he mesopo ous laye , no di e - 522 ence could be s a ed o bo h pa icle sizes used (20 and 30 nm); 523 howe e , i is likely ha a bigge di e ence in size may be o 524 ma e . Ou expe ience showed ha bes esul s o pe o ski e 525 ilms we e ob ained by applying he an isol en echnique wi h 526 a iple ca ion o mula ion. I was demons a ed ha conce ning 527 he adjacen hole anspo laye , spi o-OMeTAD was esul ing 528 IEEE P oo STOCKHAUSEN e al.: INSIGHTS IN PSC FABRICATION: UNRAVELING THE HIDDEN CHALLENGES OF EACH LAYER 9 in cells wi h supe io e iciency compa ed wi h he polyme ic529 analog P3HT. Finally, wo echniques o he ab ica ion o gold530 cu en collec o we e p esen ed and i was demons a ed ha 531 he mal e apo a ion leads o be e PSC han spu e ing, as in532 case o he la e he ene ge ic su ace bomba dmen p o oked533 gold pa icle pene a ion un il he pe o ski e ac i e laye , hus534 c ea ing ecombina ion cen e s. Inco po a ing all he discussed535 op imiza ions, PSC wi h an a e age e iciency o (14.8 ±1.0)%536 we e ab ica ed. Fu he mo e, an inno a i e, e sa ile, and quick537 me hod o elec ochemical subs a e e ching was applied in538 PSC, making lase -assis ed sc ibing and he e o e he neces-539 si y o such an equipmen obsole e. Dummy cells as selec i e540 elec ochemical cha ac e iza ion me hod o single laye s we e541 in oduced and yielded e sa ile esul s o he quali a i e com-542 pa ison o TiO2blocking laye s. I is belie ed ha his pape 543 con ibu es o a as e implemen a ion o PSC ab ica ion in544 esea ch g oups wi h ew expe ience in his a ea, hanks o a545 deepe unde s anding o ab ica ion de ails and use ul analysis546 ools ha a e easily a ailable.547 ACKNOWLEDGMENT548 The au ho s would like o hank M. G ¨ a zel o hos ing549 I. Mesqui a a EPFL o deepen he knowledge abou PSC ab-550 ica ion and O. Bellon om G ea cellsola L d. o ui ul551 discussions.552 REFERENCES553 [1] U.S.E.I. Adminis a ion, Washing on, DC, USA, Annual Ene gy Ou look,554 2017.555 [2] I.I.R.E. Agency, Abu Dhabi, UAE, RE hinking Ene gy 2017: Accele a ing556 he global ene gy ans o ma ion, 2017.557 [3] I.I.R.E. Agency, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Renewable Ene gy and Jobs Annual558 Re iew, 2016.559 [4] H.-S. Kim e al., “Lead iodide pe o ski e sensi ized all-solid-s a e submi-560 c on hin ilm mesoscopic sola cell wi h e iciency exceeding 9%,” Sci.561 Rep., ol. 2, 2012, A . no. 591.562 [5] NREL e iciency cha . 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Li, “Al e na ing 607 p ecu so laye deposi ion o highly s able pe o ski e ilms owa ds e - 608 icien sola cells using acuum deposi ion,” J. Ma e . Chem. A, ol.3, 609 pp. 9401–9405, 2015. 610 [21] D. Yang e al., “Su ace op imiza ion o elimina e hys e esis o eco d 611 e iciency plana pe o ski e sola cells,” Ene gy En i on. Sci., ol.9, 612 pp. 3071–3078, 2016. 613 [22] K. Wang e al., “CO2 Plasma- ea ed TiO2 ilm as an e ec i e elec on 614 anspo laye o high-pe o mance plana pe o ski e sola cells,” ACS 615 Appl. Ma e . In e aces, ol. 9, pp. 33989–33996, 2017. 616 [23] W. Yongzhen e al.,“Highly compac TiO 2 laye o e icien hole- 617 blocking in pe o ski e sola cells,” Appl. Phys. Exp ess, ol. 7, 2014, 618 A . no. 052301. 619 [24] H. Hu e al., “A omic laye deposi ion o TiO2 o a high-e iciency hole- 620 blocking laye in hole-conduc o - ee pe o ski e sola cells p ocessed in 621 ambien ai ,” ACS Appl. Ma e . In e aces, ol. 8, pp. 17999–18007, 2016. 622 [25] L. E ga , Hole T anspo Ma e ial (HTM) F ee Pe o ski e Sola Cell, 623 Hole Conduc o F ee Pe o ski e-Based Sola Cells. Cham, Swi ze land: 624 Sp inge , 2016, pp. 9–24. 625 [26] L. E ga e al., “Mesoscopic CH3NH3PbI3/TiO2 he e ojunc ion sola 626 cells,” J. Ame . Chem. Soc., ol. 134, pp. 17396–17399, 2012. 627 [27] A. Hag eld , G. Boschloo, L. Sun, L. Kloo, and H. Pe e sson, “Dye- 628 sensi ized sola cells,” Chem. Re ., ol. 110, pp. 6595–6663, 2010. 629 [28] J.-H. Im, C.-R. Lee, J.-W. Lee, S.-W. Pa k, and N.-G. Pa k, “6.5% e - 630 icien pe o ski e quan um-do -sensi ized sola cell,” Nanoscale, ol.3, 631 pp. 4088–4093, 2011. 632 [29] E. H. Ana aki e al., “Highly e icien and s able plana pe o ski e so- 633 la cells by solu ion-p ocessed in oxide,” Ene gy En i on. Sci., ol.9, 634 pp. 3128–3134, 2016. 635 [30] H. J. Snai h e al., “Anomalous hys e esis in pe o ski e sola cells,” J. 636 Phys. Chem. Le ., ol. 5, pp. 1511–1515, 2014. 637 [31] B. Chen, M. Yang, S. P iya, and K. Zhu, “O igin o J–V hys e esis in 638 pe o ski e sola cells,” J. Phys. Chem. Le ., ol. 7, pp. 905–917, 2016. 639 [32] K. Wojciechowski, M. Saliba, T. Leij ens, A. Aba e, and H. J. Snai h, “Sub- 640 150 [deg ee]C p ocessed meso-supe s uc u ed pe o ski e sola cells wi h 641 enhanced e iciency,” Ene gy En i on. Sci., ol. 7, pp. 1142–1147, 2014. 642 [33] T. Leij ens, B. Laube , G. E. Epe on, S. D. S anks, and H. J. Snai h, 643 “The impo ance o pe o ski e po e illing in o ganome al mixed halide 644 sensi ized TiO2-based sola cells,” J. Phys. Chem. Le ., ol. 5, pp. 1096– 645 1102, 2014. 646 [34] M. Anaya e al., “Elec on injec ion and sca old e ec s in pe o ski e 647 sola cells,” J. Ma e . Chem. C, ol. 5, pp. 634–644, 2017. 648 [35] E. L. Unge e al., “Hys e esis and ansien beha io in cu en - ol age 649 measu emen s o hyb id-pe o ski e abso be sola cells,” Ene gy En i on. 650 Sci., ol. 7 pp. 3690–3698, 2014. 651 [36] W. T ess, N. Ma ino a, T. Moehl, S. M. Zakee uddin, M. K. Nazee uddin, 652 and M. G a zel, “Unde s anding he a e-dependen J-V hys e esis, slow 653 ime componen , and aging in CH3NH3PbI3 pe o ski e sola cells: The 654 ole o a compensa ed elec ic ield,” Ene gy En i on. Sci., ol. 8, pp. 995– 655 1004, 2015. 656 [37] S. Meloni e al., “Ionic pola iza ion-induced cu en – ol age hys e esis 657 in CH3NH3PbX3 pe o ski e sola cells,” Na u e Commun., ol. 7, 2016, 658 A . no. 10334. 659 [38] G. Richa dson e al., “Can slow-mo ing ions explain hys e esis in he 660 cu en - ol age cu es o pe o ski e sola cells?” Ene gy En i on. Sci.,661 ol. 9, pp. 1476–1485, 2016. 662 [39] Z. Song, S. C. Wa hage, A. B. Phillips, and M. J. Heben, “Pa hways owa d 663 high-pe o mance pe o ski e sola cells: Re iew o ecen ad ances in 664 o gano-me al halide pe o ski es o pho o ol aic applica ions,” J. Pho on. 665 Ene gy, ol. 6, 2016, A . no. 022001. 666 IEEE P oo STOCKHAUSEN e al.: INSIGHTS IN PSC FABRICATION: UNRAVELING THE HIDDEN CHALLENGES OF EACH LAYER 5 Fig. 4. I–V cu e o cells wi h a mesopo ous TiO2 laye made om 30NR- D pas e (a e age pa icle size o 30 nm, black squa es) and om 18-NR-T pas e (a e age pa icle size o 20 nm, ed ci cles) a 0.94 sun. Bo h pas es we e pu chased om Dyesol L d. a long ime [7]. Only ecen ly, he e iciency gap has become293 a he small, which is due o imp o ed in e ace enginee ing [7],294 [18], [29]. Beside highe e iciencies, PSC wi h a mesopo ous295 laye show educed e iciency de ia ion be ween o wa d and296 backwa d scan, a phenomenon desc ibed as hys e esis [19], [30],297 [31]. When Snai h e al. demons a ed ha e en wi h meso-298 po ous laye s o alumina, a ma e ial ha canno pa icipa e in299 elec on ans e due o band ene gy misma ch, high e iciencies300 o 15.9% could be ob ained [32], i was deduced ha he meso-301 po ous laye mainly ul ills a s uc u al ole o c ys al g ow h302 and geome y de e mina ion, e en i e icien elec on injec ion303 om he pe o ski e in o he TiO2mesopo ous laye was epo ed304 [33]. Howe e , la es esul s demons a e ha ionic mig a ion a 305 he pe o ski e/TiO2in e ace, which is esponsible o cha ge306 accumula ion and he e o e ecombina ion e en s, is educed o 307 e en supp essed in he p esence o he TiO2mesopo ous laye 308 [34]. As hys e esis also depends on ionic mig a ion [35]–[38],309 i s educ ion in he p esence o mesopo ous TiO2is he conse-310 quence. Pu ing all oge he , bes esul s ha e been achie ed so311 a using a hin TiO2mesopo ous laye and a pe o ski e cap-312 ping laye ha p e en s ecombina ion be ween TiO2and he313 hole anspo laye [33], [34].314 The e exis se e al comme cial pas es wi h di e en sizes o 315 TiO2pa icles and he e o e, i was decided o compa e wo316 di e en pa icle sizes, namely one possessing 20 nm and one317 wi h 30 nm a e age pa icle diame e . The same pas e dilu ion318 a io in pu e e hanol (1:6) as well as he same deposi ion and319 sin e ing condi ions we e applied. Fig. 4 shows ha bo h meso-320 po ous laye s lead o e y compa able cell e iciencies ha a e321 wi hin he e o scale. This poin s owa d a highe ole ance and322 owa d a mesopo ous laye a chi ec u e, as long as he pa icle323 size emains simila .324 Wi hin pe o ski e ma e ials, he e exis s a huge a ie y o 325 ecipes and deposi ion echniques, which a e well summa ized326 in he book by Pa k e al. [10] and in he e iew by Song e al.327 [39]. I migh be no an easy ask o decide o he sui able328 pe o ski e ype and ab ica ion p ocess. The name pe o ski e329 e e s o a c ys alline s uc u e o he ype ABX3, A and B be-330 ing ca ions and X an anion. The pe o ski e class sui able o 331 sola cells is an o ganic lead halide, wi h A being gene ally an 332 o ganic ca ion, B being he lead ion, and X being a halogen, 333 usually b omine, iodide, chlo ine, and mix u es he eo . Lead 334 subs i u ion by in and ge manium analogs leads o pe o ski es 335 wi h se e e s abili y p oblems [32], [40], [41] and he e o e will 336 no be add essed he e. Ou ocus was o de e mine a pe o ski e 337 o mula ion easy o implemen and ha esul s in ep oducible 338 pe o ski e laye s wi h enhanced s abili y. Many esul s ha e 339 been published wi h monoca ionic pe o ski es, howe e , wi h 340 some inhe en limi a ions ha a e b ie ly exposed he e: MAPbI3341 has been in ensi ely s udied [42] bu has some d awbacks such 342 as weak s abili y owa d mois u e [43], [44] and empe a u e 343 [45]. Fo mamidinium (FA) was p oposed as al e na i e ca ion; 344 howe e , i s pe o ski e analog FAPbI3c ys allizes in he pho- 345 oinac i e phase below 60 °C [46], such as he ino ganic ca ion 346 analog CsPbI3[47]. Whe eas se e al g oups obse ed imp o ed 347 s abili y o he pho oac i e phase upon using bina y mixed ca ion 348 pe o ski es [48]–[52], Saliba e al. decided o combine he h ee 349 ca ions in a pe o ski e and achie ed high e iciencies (>20%) 350 on a e y ep oducible basis [12]. 351 Se e al me hods exis o solu ion-p ocessed ilm ab ica ion, 352 he mos common being simple sp eading o he pe o ski e p e- 353 cu so solu ion on he subs a e, also known as one-s ep depo- 354 si ion. Howe e , ilms wi h poo su ace con ol and he e o e 355 huge e iciency a ia ions gene ally eme ge [42]. A mo e so- 356 phis ica ed app oach is he sequen ial s ep deposi ion, whe e 357 he me al halide is i s deposi ed and annealed be o e being 358 b ough in con ac wi h he ammonium sal as apo o in solu- 359 ion [42], [53]. Ne e heless, se e al d awbacks o his deposi- 360 ion me hod we e expe ienced in ou g oup, such as incomple e 361 con e sion o he me al halide o pa ial dissolu ion o he pe - 362 o ski e du ing he subsequen washing s ep. Fu he mo e, i is 363 mo e ime-consuming as i equi es wo sin e ing s eps. The 364 an isol en echnique was in oduced in 2014 by he g oup o 365 Seok [19] and since hen, i has been he me hod o choice o 366 subsequen ly published eco d e iciencies [7]. I is qui e simple 367 o implemen and equi es only one p ecu so solu ion, whe eas 368 he c ys alliza ion o he pe o ski e is ini ia ed by adding a so- 369 called an isol en . This an isol en is chosen no o dissol e he 370 pe o ski e on one side and o displace he sol en o he la e on 371 he o he side. The main d awback o his deposi ion me hod is 372 i s a isanal aspec , equi ing a ce ain deg ee o aining be o e 373 eaching enhanced ep oducibili y. Howe e , smoo h pe o ski e 374 ilms wi h homogeneous composi ion and la ge g ain bounda ies 375 a e ob ained a e a sho aining ime. Fig. 5(a) shows a c oss 376 sec ion o a PSC wi h he monoli hic pe o ski e capping laye 377 on op o he mesopo ous TiO2laye wi h g ains g owing om 378 he bo om o he op and which a e hough o enhance cha ge 379 anspo , acco ding o Saliba e al. [12]. The op iew o he 380 pe o ski e laye [see Fig. 5(b)]shows g ains possessing diame- 381 e s be ween 200 and 500 nm, which is in good ag eemen wi h 382 he o iginal epo [12]. 383 One o he bigges de imen al ac o s o pe o ski e ab- 384 ica ion and s abili y is a mosphe ic humidi y, oge he wi h 385 oxygen [54]. PSC ha a e mean o exhibi p olonged s abili y 386 equi e ab ica ion and s o age in ine a mosphe e o de ice 387 encapsula ion a e ab ica ion [55], [56]. The e o e, PSC a e 388 IEEE P oo 6IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS TABLE II BEST AND AVERAGE EFFICIENCIES FOR PSC, WHILE THE PEROVSKITE LAYER WAS FABRICATED WITHIN DIFFERENT CONDITIONS Fig. 5. SEM images. (a) C oss sec ion o he en i e PSC de ice showing he compac TiO2laye (ca. 80 nm), ollowed by he mesopo ous laye o 150– 200 nm. The adjacen pe o ski e laye pa ially in il a es in o he mesopo ous s uc u e and i s capping laye has a hickness o 200–300 nm. The spi o- MeOTAD hole anspo laye (da k g ey) has a hickness o 130–190 nm, ollowed by a 60-nm- hick gold laye as cu en collec o (ligh g ey). (b) Top iew o he pe o ski e laye , showing g ains wi h ca. 200–500 nm diame e . The issu es e ol ed du ing image cap u e and he e o e a e belie ed o be due o imaging. Ba s co espond o 1 µm. gene ally ab ica ed in glo e boxes wi h d y and oxygen- ee389 a mosphe e. And no only ha , also he subs a es should be390 absolu ely mois u e- ee. A e sin e ing he mesopo ous laye ,391 subs a es should hus be handled only in d y a mosphe e o 392 ans e ed o d y a mosphe e such as a glo e box be o e cooling393 below 150 °C. Wi hin he deg ada ion mechanism o pe o ski eQ3 394 s uc u es, oxygen only in e e es subsequen ly o hyd a a ion395 [56] and can he e o e be conside ed less c i ical i mois u e is396 absen o e y low. Labo a o ies ha a e newcome s in his a ea397 o esea ch migh no possess a glo e box in as uc u e. Low398 a mosphe ic humidi y le els a e assumed o be less c i ical o399 pe o ski e ab ica ion bu hese condi ions depend s ongly on400 he geog aphic localiza ion, he season, and some mo e inhe -401 en ac o s. To demons a e he e ec o mois u e and oxygen402 a mosphe e on pe o ski e o ma ion, a compa a i e es o PSC403 de ices ha we e ab ica ed inside and ou side he glo e box404 ( ela i e humidi y ou side he glo e box: 58%) was pe o med.405 The esul s a e displayed in Fig. 6 and Table II and i can be406 obse ed ha in case o pe o ski e being ab ica ed in ambi-407 en a mosphe e, he ac i e laye showed a ligh e colo and he408 co esponding PSC showed a bo h lowe VOC and JSC, whe eas409 he ill ac o emained a he unin luenced. As a s a egy o410 minimize wa e up ake by he subs a e, samples we e hea ed411 o 100 °C immedia ely be o e he pe o ski e p ecu so solu-412 ion was deposi ed. Co esponding PSC showed an imp o ed413 VOC and JSC, howe e he ill ac o dec eased. This is likely414 due o inhomogeneous c ys al g ow h, induced by he ele a ed415 empe a u e o he subs a e. Fo he bes cells ob ained, a li -416 Fig. 6. I–V cu es o PSC ab ica ed in a glo e box wi h 0% ela i e humidi y a 25 °C (black squa es), a ambien humidi y (58% ela i e humidi y) a 25 °C (g ey diamonds), and a ambien humidi y wi h subs a e p ehea ing a 100 °C ( ed ci cles) wi h an inciden ligh in ensi y o 0.94 sun. Image: Sample wi h pe o ski e p oduced inside (le ) and ou side he glo e box ( igh ) a 25 °C. le imp o emen can be s a ed when ho subs a es we e used, 417 hough a e age e iciencies came ou o be e y simila o hose 418 wi hou hea ea men . 419 This s udy shows ha i is highly ecommended o wo k 420 wi h a glo e box, p o iding e y low humidi y (<0.002% el. 421 humidi y) and oxygen le els. Ano he possible s a egy migh 422 be he use o a pe o ski e o mula ion ha is op imized owa d 423 enhanced esis ance a ele a ed humidi y le els [57]. 424 A op he pho oac i e laye , he hole conduc ing laye selec- 425 i ely anspo s he holes o he cu en collec o and he e o e 426 ul ills he complemen a y ole o he TiO2laye . I has o be 427 pinhole- ee o inhibi con ac o he cu en collec o wi h he 428 pe o ski e laye , o he same easons ha we e al eady s essed 429 ou conce ning he elec on conduc ing laye . Gene ally, a o - 430 mula ion using spi o-OMeTAD is used ha con ains, among o h- 431 e s, he ionic liquid LiTFSI o inc ease hole conduc i i y. How- 432 e e , bo h LiTFSI and spi o-OMeTAD ha e hyd ophilic p ope - 433 ies and p omo e humidi y inges ion, leading o poo humidi y 434 s abili y o he en i e de ice. A empe a u es abo e 55 °C, he 435 molecula hole anspo e c ys allizes, which se e ely a ec s 436 cell e iciencies. Two di e en hole conduc o laye s we e com- 437 pa ed owa d hei s abili y, namely spi o-oMeTAD as molecula 438 HTL and poly(3-hexyl hiophene) (P3HT) as polyme ic HTL. 439 IEEE P oo STOCKHAUSEN e al.: INSIGHTS IN PSC FABRICATION: UNRAVELING THE HIDDEN CHALLENGES OF EACH LAYER 7 Fig. 7. (a) I–V cu es o PSC employing spi o-OMeTAD (black squa es) and P3HT ( ed ci cles) as HTL a 0.95 sun. (b) No malized e iciency s abili y o PSC using wo PSC wi h spi o-OMeTAD (black squa es and g ey diamonds) and wo wi h P3HT ( ed ci cles and blue iangles). The ha ched g een a ea indica es a de ia ion less han 5% om he ini ial e iciency. Fig. 8. I–V cu es o PSC possessing a gold cu en collec o made by he mal e apo a ion (black line) and by spu e ing ( ed line) a 0.93 sun. I u ns ou ha spi o-OMeTAD leads o be e e iciencies,440 see Fig. 7(a), showing be e cu en densi y, open-ci cui po-441 en ial, and ill ac o al oge he . A po en ial ad an age could442 lie in an enhanced s abili y despi e lowe e iciency when P3HT443 is employed, bu he expe imen al da a could no con i m his444 assump ion, see Fig. 7(b), wi hin he limi ed ime ame.445 Gene ally, cu en collec o s a e made o gold despi e i s446 highe cos , as al e na i e me als such as Ag and Al ha e been447 demons a ing weak s abili ies [58]–[60]. Among gold depo-448 si ion me hods, one o he mos common ones a e spu e ing449 and he mal e apo a ion. Howe e , almos all published wo ks450 use he mal e apo a ion. We decided he e o e o compa e gold451 ilms wi h simila hickness ha we e ab ica ed by hese wo452 echniques. Indeed, he mal e apo a ion leads o a be e o e all453 cell pe o mance, see Fig. 8.454 The eason o he wo se pe o mance o PSC wi h spu e ed455 cu en collec o was e idenced by doing a sco ch es . While456 in case o he mal e apo a ion, he gold laye could be easily 457 s ipped o , in case o spu e ing deposi ion, he gold emained 458 s uck in o HTM. E en a e dissol ing he HTM laye , gold 459 aces we e s ill de ec ed wi h he naked eye inside he pe - 460 o ski e laye . This means ha du ing he gold laye deposi ion, 461 su ace bomba dmen p o okes pene a ion o gold deep in o 462 he de ice s uc u e, c ea ing ecombina ion cen e s. Thus, a 463 he mal e apo a o is needed o e icien pe o ski e sola cell 464 ab ica ion, e en i his s ep conside ably inc eases he ene gy 465 payback ime o PSC [61]. 466 Following all he laye ab ica ion s eps men ioned be o e, 467 i was possible o ab ica e PSC wi h an a e age e iciency o 468 (14.8 ±1.0)% o a se o 49 cells, see Fig. 9 le . 469 In labo a o y condi ions, cell e iciencies a e gene ally mea- 470 su ed o cell ac i e a eas in e io o 1 cm2. The cell a ea de- 471 limi ed by he deposi ion o he cu en collec o should be only 472 sligh ly supe io o he ac i e cell a ea (delimi ed by a mask) o 473 a oid ecombina ion e en s. Ins ead o using c ocodile clamps 474 a bi a ily connec ed o he cell, a sui able sample holde is 475 p e e able, see Fig. 9 igh , o maximal ep oducibili y. Among 476 all ac o s ha desc ibe he cell’s pe o mance, he maximum 477 powe poin (MPP) is he mos aluable in o ma ion in e ms o 478 applicabili y in sola de ices as i desc ibes bes he ope a ing 479 pa ame e s o he cell [7], [13], [62]. The MPP is ob ained ia 480 ma hema ic ex ac ion om I–Vcu es and su p isingly has no 481 ye gained big a en ion in published scien i ic wo ks. I–Vcu es 482 a e gene ally ob ained by dynamic scanning o ex e nal loads 483 hough ca e mus be aken ha he scan a e does no o e pass 484 he dynamic elec ochemical e en s inside he pe o ski e cell. 485 An example is gi en in Fig. 10, whe e a PSC was measu ed 486 a se e al scan a es. I me ely he I–V cu e is conside ed o 487 e iciency de e mina ion, bes esul s a e ob ained wi h a scan 488 a e o 1 V/s. Bu i CV o he same cell a e eco ded a 10 mV/s 489 and a 1 V/s, a s iking di e ence is obse ed conce ning he 490 hys e esis, see Fig. 11. Whe eas hys e esis is a he low in he 491 o me case, i conside ably inc eases in he la e case. This 492 IEEE P oo 8IEEE JOURNAL OF PHOTOVOLTAICS Fig. 9. E iciency dis ibu ion o all cells ab ica ed in s anda d condi ions (le ) and cell a chi ec u e wi h es ing de ice o ep oducible es ing condi ions ( igh ). Fig. 10. I–V cu es and e iciencies o a PSC eco ded a di e en scan a es a 0.98 sun: 10 mV/s (black squa es), 100 mV/s ( ed ci cles), 1 V/s (g ey diamonds). Fig. 11. Hys e esis o a PSC eco ded a a scan a e o 10 mV/s (black squa es) and 1 V/s ( ed ci cles) a 0.98 sun. means ha i he I–V cu e is eco ded in backwa d scan in such 493 condi ions, he ob ained esul s do no e lec he cell’s eal be- 494 ha io and he e o e lead o o e es ima ion o cell pe o mance 495 [7], [13]. Lacking so a easily implemen able measu emen 496 p o ocols o MPP acking, condi ions o I–V cu e eco ding 497 should be ca e ully chosen, wi h he goal o no o e es ima e 498 eal cell cha ac e is ics. 499 IV. CONCLUSION 500 PSC ep esen a e y a ac i e pho o ol aic echnology, as 501 innume ous publica ions ha e demons a ed, howe e ini ia ing 502 in his a ea may be a ha d ask. PSC a e made o se e al hin 503 laye s and no only each laye , bu also each in e ace plays 504 an impo an ole o he manu ac u ing o e icien de ices. 505 This pape is mainly di ec ed owa d esea ch g oups and sci- 506 en is s ha a e beginne s in his ac i e ield o esea ch and as 507 such, i was in ended o poin ou ab ica ion de ails ha emain 508 ba ely discussed in mos publica ions, bu ha a e signi ican 509 o he p epa a ion o e icien cells. I was e idenced ha be- 510 sides he usual equipmen o hin- ilm p epa a ion (ho pla e, 511 spin coa e , p og ammable u nace, e c.) and pho oelec ochem- 512 ical cha ac e iza ion (po en ios a o a iable ex e nal load, sola 513 simula o ), a glo e box and a he mal e apo a o o he depo- 514 si ion o he gold cu en collec o a e s ongly ad ised. The 515 goal o his pape is o analyze and op imize each laye and, as 516 a consequence, demons a e hei in luence on he en i e PSC 517 de ice. 518 I was e idenced by expe imen s ha o PSC pe o ming 519 bes , blocking laye has o be ab ica ed ia sp ay py olysis, 520 whe eas compa able esul s we e ob ained when pu e oxygen o 521 ai was used as ca ie gas. Fo he mesopo ous laye , no di e - 522 ence could be s a ed o bo h pa icle sizes used (20 and 30 nm); 523 howe e , i is likely ha a bigge di e ence in size may be o 524 ma e . Ou expe ience showed ha bes esul s o pe o ski e 525 ilms we e ob ained by applying he an isol en echnique wi h 526 a iple ca ion o mula ion. I was demons a ed ha conce ning 527 he adjacen hole anspo laye , spi o-OMeTAD was esul ing 528 IEEE P oo STOCKHAUSEN e al.: INSIGHTS IN PSC FABRICATION: UNRAVELING THE HIDDEN CHALLENGES OF EACH LAYER 9 in cells wi h supe io e iciency compa ed wi h he polyme ic529 analog P3HT. Finally, wo echniques o he ab ica ion o gold530 cu en collec o we e p esen ed and i was demons a ed ha 531 he mal e apo a ion leads o be e PSC han spu e ing, as in532 case o he la e he ene ge ic su ace bomba dmen p o oked533 gold pa icle pene a ion un il he pe o ski e ac i e laye , hus534 c ea ing ecombina ion cen e s. Inco po a ing all he discussed535 op imiza ions, PSC wi h an a e age e iciency o (14.8 ±1.0)%536 we e ab ica ed. Fu he mo e, an inno a i e, e sa ile, and quick537 me hod o elec ochemical subs a e e ching was applied in538 PSC, making lase -assis ed sc ibing and he e o e he neces-539 si y o such an equipmen obsole e. Dummy cells as selec i e540 elec ochemical cha ac e iza ion me hod o single laye s we e541 in oduced and yielded e sa ile esul s o he quali a i e com-542 pa ison o TiO2blocking laye s. I is belie ed ha his pape 543 con ibu es o a as e implemen a ion o PSC ab ica ion in544 esea ch g oups wi h ew expe ience in his a ea, hanks o a545 deepe unde s anding o ab ica ion de ails and use ul analysis546 ools ha a e easily a ailable.547 ACKNOWLEDGMENT548 The au ho s would like o hank M. G ¨ a zel o hos ing549 I. Mesqui a a EPFL o deepen he knowledge abou PSC ab-550 ica ion and O. Bellon om G ea cellsola L d. o ui ul551 discussions.552 REFERENCES553 [1] U.S.E.I. Adminis a ion, Washing on, DC, USA, Annual Ene gy Ou look,554 2017.555 [2] I.I.R.E. Agency, Abu Dhabi, UAE, RE hinking Ene gy 2017: Accele a ing556 he global ene gy ans o ma ion, 2017.557 [3] I.I.R.E. Agency, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Renewable Ene gy and Jobs Annual558 Re iew, 2016.559 [4] H.-S. Kim e al., “Lead iodide pe o ski e sensi ized all-solid-s a e submi-560 c on hin ilm mesoscopic sola cell wi h e iciency exceeding 9%,” Sci.561 Rep., ol. 2, 2012, A . no. 591.562 [5] NREL e iciency cha . 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Tai e al., “E icien and s able pe o ski e sola cells p epa ed in711 ambien ai i espec i e o he humidi y,” Na u e Commun., ol. 7, 2016,712 A . no. 11105.713 [58] T. Leij ens, G. E. Epe on, S. Pa hak, A. Aba e, M. M. Lee, and H. J.714 Snai h, “O e coming ul a iole ligh ins abili y o sensi ized TiO2 wi h715 meso-supe s uc u ed o ganome al i-halide pe o ski e sola cells,” Na-716 u e Commun., ol. 4, 2013, A . no. 2885.717 [59] Y. Han e al., “Deg ada ion obse a ions o encapsula ed plana 718 CH3NH3PbI3 pe o ski e sola cells a high empe a u es and humidi y,”719 J. Ma e . Chem. A, ol. 3, pp. 8139–8147, 2015.720 [60] J. You e al., “Imp o ed ai s abili y o pe o ski e sola cells ia solu ion-721 p ocessed me al oxide anspo laye s,” Na u e Nano echnol., ol. 11,722 pp. 75–81, 2016.723 [61] J. Gong, S. B. Da ling, and F. You, “Pe o ski e pho o ol aics: Li e-cycle724 assessmen o ene gy and en i onmen al impac s,” Ene gy En i on. Sci.,725 ol. 8, pp. 1953–1968, 2015.726 [62] E. Zimme mann e al., “Cha ac e iza ion o pe o ski e sola cells:727 Towa ds a eliable measu emen p o ocol,” APL Ma e ., ol. 4, 2016,728 A . no. 091901.729 Ve ena S ockhausen ecei ed he B.S. deg ee in 730 chemis y and biochemis y and he M.S. deg ee 731 in chemis y om Ludwig Maximilians Uni e si y, 732 Munich, Ge many, in 2005 and 2007, espec i ely, 733 and he Ph.D. deg ee in analy ical physical chem- 734 is y om Denis Dide o Uni e si y, Pa is, F ance, 735 in 2011. 736 In 2013 and om 2015 o 2017, she was a Pos - 737 doc Fellow wi hin he g oup o P o . Ad´ elio Mendes. 738 He esea ch in e es s include pho o ol aic sys ems 739 such as dye-sensi ized sola cells and pe o ski e so- 740 la cells, as well as pho oelec ochemical sys ems o wa e spli ing. 741 742 Isabel Mesqui a was bo n in Po o, Po ugal, in 1988. 743 She ecei ed he M.S. deg ee in chemical enginee - 744 ing om he Uni e si y o Po o, Po o, in 2011. She 745 is cu en ly wo king owa d he Ph.D. deg ee a he 746 Facul y o Enginee ing, Uni e si y o Po o, ocusing 747 in he pe o ski e sola cells and hei s abili y. 748 F om Sep embe o 2011 o Ma ch 2015, she 749 was a Resea ch Fellow wi h LEPABE—Labo a o y 750 o P ocess Enginee ing, En i onmen , Bio echnol- 751 ogy and Ene gy wo king in me hanol uel cells and 752 dye-sensi ized sola cells. . 753 754 Lu´ ısa And ade ecei ed he Ph.D. deg ee om he 755 Uni e si y o Po o, Po o, Po ugal, in 2010, wi h 756 he hesis “S udy and Cha ac e iza ion o G ¨ a zel 757 Sola Cells.” 758 She is cu en ly an Assis an Resea che wi h LEP- 759 ABE, Facul y o Enginee ing, Uni e si y o Po o, 760 wo king wi h dye-sensi ized sola cells and pe - 761 o ski e sola cells. She wo ked di ec ly wi h P o . 762 G ¨ a zel a he Labo a o y o Pho onic and In e aces, 763 Lausanne, Swi ze land. 764 D . And ade was he ecipien o he ACP Diogo 765 Vasconcelos awa d in 2011, he Sol ay&Ho ione Inno a ion Challenge awa d 766 in 2011 and 2012, and he Ramos Ca a ino awa d in 2012. 767 768 Ad´ elio Mendes was bo n in 1964. He ecei ed he 769 Ph.D. deg ee om he Uni e si y o Po o, Po o, Po - 770 ugal, in 1993. 771 He is a Full P o esso wi h he Chemical Enginee - 772 ing Depa men , Facul y o Enginee ing, Uni e si y 773 o Po o. He coo dina es a la ge esea ch eam wi h e- 774 sea ch in e es s mainly including dye-sensi ized sola 775 cells and pe o ski e sola cells, pho oelec ochemi- 776 cal cells, including wa e spli ing and sola edox 777 low cells, edox low ba e ies, PEMFC, me hanol 778 s eam e o ming, memb ane, and adso ben -based 779 gas sepa a ions. He ecei ed an Ad anced Resea ch G an om he ERC on 780 dye-sensi ized sola cells o building in eg a ed o ca. 2 MEu os. He is cu - 781 en ly he Coo dina o o CEne -FEUP, he Compe ence Cen e o Ene gy o 782 he Facul y o Enginee ing a he Uni e si y o Po o. 783 784 IEEE P oo GENERAL INSTRUCTION 785 Au ho s: Please no e ha we canno accep new sou ce iles as co ec ions o you pape . I possible, please anno a e he PDF 786 p oo we ha e sen you wi h you co ec ions, using Adobe Ac oba edi ing so wa e, and upload i ia he Au ho Ga eway. 787 Al e na i ely, you may send us you co ec ions in a simple . x ile, u ilizing he line numbe s in he ma gins o he p oo o 788 indica e exac ly whe e you would like o us o make co ec ions. You may, howe e , upload e ised g aphics ia he Au ho 789 Ga eway. 790 QUERIES 791 Q1. Au ho : Please check whe he he unding in o ma ion is co ec . 792 Q2. Au ho : Please p o ide he expansion o DMF, DMSO, and HTL. 793 Q3. Au ho : Please check he usage o he e m “hyd a a ion” in he sen ence “Wi hin he deg ada ion mechanism o pe o ski e 794 s uc u es . . . ”. 795 Q4. Au ho : Please p o ide missing yea o Re s. [5]and [6].796 Q5. Au ho : Please p o ide page age o Re . [54].797