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Probing the Microstructure of Methylammonium Lead Iodide Perovskite Solar Cells
Author(s) -
Leonhard Tobias,
Schulz Alexander D.,
Röhm Holger,
Wagner Susanne,
Altermann Fabian J.,
Rheinheimer Wolfgang,
Hoffmann Michael J.,
Colsmann Alexander
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.201800989
Subject(s) - materials science , ferroelectricity , electron backscatter diffraction , microstructure , piezoresponse force microscopy , perovskite (structure) , polarization (electrochemistry) , thin film , crystallography , crystal (programming language) , optics , mineralogy , composite material , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , geology , dielectric , chemistry , physics , computer science , programming language
The microstructure of absorber layers is pivotally important for all thin‐film solar technologies. Using electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), the crystal orientation in methylammonium lead iodide thin films with submicrometer resolution is reported. For the vast majority of (110) oriented grains, the c ‐axis of the perovskite unit cell is oriented in‐plane. Although some adjacent grains exhibit the same in‐plane horizontal orientation of the c ‐axis, no universal horizontal orientation of the c ‐axis within the sample plane exists. The (110) crystal orientation correlates with an in‐plane orientation of the ferroelectric polarization as investigated by vertical and lateral piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). The individual grains with different crystal orientations that exhibit different ferroelectric patterns and surface potentials are identified. The strong correlation between crystal orientation and ferroelectric polarization allows conclusions to be drawn about the microstructure from PFM measurements and, likewise, the ferroelectric polarization to be derived from crystallographic observations by EBSD.