Prof. Dr. Christoph J. Brabec
Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg
Institute Materials for Electronics and Energy Technology

Dr. Carolin M Sutter-Fella
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Molecular Foundry

Perovskite solar cells are one of the most promising emerging photovoltaic technologies. Since 2009, the power conversion efficiency of laboratory-scale perovskite devices has been improved from 3.8% to 25.5%. Low-cost solution processed perovskite materials not only impress with their outstanding optoelectronic properties, but also offer a wide range of compositions which poses great opportunities for research. To take advantage of them, reproducible and user-independent laboratory work is essential, for example by using automated platforms that enable high throughput and reproducibility. In this project, fully automated thin film synthesis on a robotic setup is combined with high-throughput material characterization methods to study the crystallization process during spin coating. A deeper understanding of the thin film formation is required to improve the stability and overall performance of the device. One successful strategy to enhance stability is the introduction of alkali metal ions. The focus of this project is to investigate the effects of such elements on the crystallization pathway and microstructure of perovskites.