Controlling crystal growth of non-toxic Bismuth iodide (BiI3) semiconducting material for efficient photovoltaics

M. Masroor; T. Yan; J. McRae; E. Molstad; R. Rivas; E. Ruano; A. McClelland; P. M. Rao

doi:10.1117/12.2544043

3 March 2020 Controlling crystal growth of non-toxic Bismuth iodide (BiI3) semiconducting material for efficient photovoltaics

M. Masroor, T. Yan, J. McRae, E. Molstad, R. Rivas, E. Ruano, A. McClelland, P. M. Rao

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11275, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices IX; 112750H (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2544043
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2020, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

High absorption coefficient, suitable band gap, and high electron mobility makes non-toxic 2D bismuth iodide (BiI₃) a promising alternative to efficient, toxic perovskites and inorganic solar cells containing lead (Pb). In this work, we successfully synthesized, controlled, and optimized the crystal orientation of BiI₃ crystals grown directly on a transparent conductive substrate using a custom-built close space sublimation (CSS) method. Morphology characterization by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirms the controlled morphology of BiI₃ crystals. Record photoexcited carrier lifetime of 0.6 ns was characterized by time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy for the optimized vertical BiI₃ crystals. The photoluminescence confirmed the band gap of the BiI₃ film to be 1.82 ev which is a suitable band gap for photovoltaic application. The optimized vertical BiI₃ crystals device showed a power conversion efficiency of 0.6% due to the fact that the optimized vertically oriented crystals allowed us to harness the high in-plane electron mobility of BiI₃. Higher efficiencies can be obtained by further optimizing the electron and hole transport layers in our PV device. This work paves the way for controlling the orientation and morphology of BiI₃ for efficient solar cells by using a facile, scalable, and transfer-free CSS method.

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M. Masroor, T. Yan, J. McRae, E. Molstad, R. Rivas, E. Ruano, A. McClelland, and P. M. Rao "Controlling crystal growth of non-toxic Bismuth iodide (BiI3) semiconducting material for efficient photovoltaics", Proc. SPIE 11275, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices IX, 112750H (3 March 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2544043

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KEYWORDS

Crystals

Photovoltaics

Solar cells

Bismuth

Thin films

Lead

Semiconductors

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