Ji‐Sang Park

The behavior of grain boundaries in polycrystalline halide perovskite solar cells remains poorly understood. Whereas theoretical studies indicate that grain boundaries are not active for electron–hole recombination, there have been observations of higher nonradiative recombination rates involving these extended defects. We find that iodine interstitial defects, which have been established as a recombination center in bulk crystals, tend to segregate at planar defects in CsPbI3. First-principles

The electronic structure and related optical properties of an emerging thin-film photovoltaic material CH3NH3PbBr3 are studied. A block-shaped α-phase CH3NH3PbBr3 single crystal with the natural ⟨100⟩ surface is synthesized solvothermally. The room-temperature dielectric function ε = ε1 + iε2 spectrum of CH3NH3PbBr3 is determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry from 0.73 to 6.45 eV. Data are modeled with a series of Tauc-Lorentz oscillators, which show the absorption edge with a strong excitonic t

Abstract Hierarchically ordered structures facilitate the incorporation of diverse functions simultaneously. The present report introduces a simple and novel strategy for producing hierarchically ordered polymeric films. Hierarchical ordering of aqueous droplets on a polymer solution is realized by the imposition of physical confinement via various shaped gratings. After drying of the solution, well‐ordered hierarchical structures were fabricated in the remaining polymer film. The size of the gr

The origin of the ballistic hole gas recently observed in Ge/Si core-shell nanowires has not been clearly resolved yet, although it is thought to be the result of the band offset at the radial interface. Here we perform spin-polarized density-functional calculations to investigate the defect levels of surface dangling bonds and Au impurities in the Si shell. Without any doping strategy, we find that Si dangling bond and substitutional Au defects behave as charge traps, generating hole carriers i

The behaviour of grain boundaries in polycrystalline halide perovskite solar cells remains poorly understood. Whereas theoretical studies indicate that grain boundaries are not active for electron-hole recombination, there have been observations of higher non-radiative recombination rates involving these extended defects. We find that iodine interstitial defects, which have been established as a recombination center in bulk crystals, tend to segregate at planar defects in CsPbI3. First-principle

Low-defect-density Ge epitaxy was fabricated using aspect ratio trapping combined with epitaxial lateral overgrowth techniques. Dislocations from the interface were trapped inside oxide trenches, and then Ge was laterally grown to form wide, long strips. Chemical mechanical polishing of Ge was used to planarize the faceted strips. Uncoalesced Ge strips showed a defect density as low as from plan-view transmission electron microscopy, while coalesced Ge had higher defect density. This approach sh

Chiral perovskites have emerged as promising candidates for polarization-sensing materials. Despite their excellent chiroptical properties, the nature of their multiple-quantum-well structures is a critical hurdle for polarization-based and spintronic applications. Furthermore, as the origin of chiroptical activity in chiral perovskites is still illusive, the strategy for simultaneously enhancing the chiroptical activity and charge transport has not yet been reported. Here, we demonstrated that

Using first-principles density functional calculations, we investigate the relative stability and electronic structure of the grain boundaries (GBs) in zinc-blende CdTe. Among the low-Σ-value symmetric tilt Σ3 (111), Σ3 (112), Σ5 (120), and Σ5 (130) GBs, we show that the Σ3 (111)GB is always the most stable due to the absence of dangling bonds and wrong bonds. The Σ5 (120) GBs, however, are shown to be more stable than the Σ3 (112) GBs, even though the former has a higher Σ value, and the latter

Solar cells are semiconductor devices that generate electricity through charge generation upon illumination. For optimal device efficiency, the photogenerated carriers must reach the electrical contact layers before they recombine. A deep understanding of the recombination process and transport behavior is essential to design better devices. Halide perovskite solar cells are commonly made of a polycrystalline absorber layer, but there is no consensus on the nature and role of grain boundaries. T