Overcoming Microstructural Defects at the Buried Interface of Formamidinium-Based Perovskite Solar Cells

Since the advent of formamidinium (FA)-based perovskite photovoltaics (PVs), significant performance enhancements have been achieved. However, a critical challenge persists: the propensity for void formation in the perovskite film at the buried perovskite-interlayer interface has a deleterious effect on device performance. With most emerging perovskite PVs adopting the p-i-n architecture, the specific challenge lies at the perovskite-hole transport layer (HTL) interface, with previous strategies to overcome this limitation being limited to specific perovskite-HTL combinations; thus, the lack of universal approaches represents a bottleneck. Here, we present a novel strategy that overcomes the formation of such voids (microstructural defects) through a film treatment with methylammonium chloride (MACl). Specifically, our work introduces MACl via a sequential deposition method, having a profound impact on the microstructural defect density at the critical buried interface. Our technique is independent of both the HTL and the perovskite film thickness, highlighting the universal nature of this approach. By employing device photoluminescence measurements and conductive atomic force microscopy, we reveal that when present, such voids impede charge extraction, thereby diminishing device short-circuit current. Through comprehensive steady-state and transient photoluminescence spectroscopy analysis, we demonstrate that by implementing our MACl treatment to remedy these voids, devices with reduced defect states, suppressed nonradiative recombination, and extended carrier lifetimes of up to 2.3 μs can be prepared. Furthermore, our novel treatment reduces the stringent constraints around antisolvent choice and dripping time, significantly extending the processing window for the perovskite absorber layer and offering significantly greater flexibility for device fabrication.