Scalable Pulsed Laser Deposition of Transparent Rear Electrode for Perovskite Solar Cells

Sputtered transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are widely accepted transparent electrodes for several types of high-efficiency solar cells. However, the different sputtering yield of atoms makes stoichiometric transfer of target material challenging for multi-compounds. Additionally, the high kinetic energies of the arriving species may damage sensitive functional layers beneath. Conversely, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is operated at higher deposition pressures promoting thermalization of particles. This leads to stoichiometric transfer and additionally reduces the kinetic energy of ablated species. Despite these advantages, PLD is rarely used within the photovoltaic community due to concerns about low deposition rates and the scalability of the technique. In this study, wafer-scale (4-inch) PLD of high-mobility Zr-doped In₂O₃ (IZrO) TCO for solar cells is demonstrated. IZrO films are grown at room temperature with deposition rate on par with RF-sputtering (>4 nm min⁻¹). As-deposited IZrO films are mostly amorphous and exhibit excellent optoelectronic properties after solid phase crystallization at <200 °C. 100-nm thick films feature a sheet resistance of 21 Ω◻⁻¹ with electron mobilities ≈70 cm² V⁻¹s⁻¹. PLD-grown IZrO is applied as rear electrode in efficient semi-transparent halide perovskite solar cells leading to the improved stabilized maximum power point efficiency (15.1%) as compared to the cells with sputtered ITO electrodes (11.9%).