Solar Cells And Quantum Technology Of The Future: LMU Researchers Embrace Perovskites

LMU researchers are using perovskite crystals as the basis for developing materials for tomorrow’s energy technology and optoelectronics.

The highly advanced layers are only a few hundred nanometers thick—yet they are clearly visible to the naked eye. This ultrathin film appears strikingly dark as it captures a large portion of the incident light. The material we’re talking about is perovskite – a class of crystalline materials that is well suited for ultra-thin solar cell applications. “In solar cells, our thin film components are generally less than two micrometers thick,” explains Dr. Erkan Aydin, head of the LMU research group for innovative photovoltaic technologies. Working with his team, he is developing perovskite solar cells that are suitable for many different applications, such as facades, wearables or even satellites.

Perovskite materials absorb sunlight very efficiently and can be applied to a wide range of surfaces, including metal foils, plastic films and glass. For example, because of their ultra-thin and sometimes even transparent structure, the perovskite cells could be integrated into window glass or be applied as films. Because they can be processed by relatively simple and low-cost methods such as printing or coating, perovskites offer a highly versatile platform for future solar technologies.

“All these properties make perovskites a unique material platform,” says Dr. Esma Ugur, head of the LMU research group for fundamental studies of energy-harvesting technologies. However, further work is needed to improve stability and long-term reliability before the technology can be used more broadly.

Efficient energy generation and quantum technologies of the future
Aydin, Ugur and other researchers at LMU are keen to bridge this gap between basic research and industrial application. To help them keep developing the perovskite modules, they are receiving support from the German Research Foundation, which funds the e-conversion Cluster of Excellence . As part of this initiative, scientists from LMU and TUM are working with other partners to investigate how energy can be converted and stored more efficiently and sustainably. Aydin’s main focus is on the basic principles: “We’re primarily developing fundamental materials and device principles needed to solve challenges that industry cannot yet address.”

We’re primarily developing fundamental materials and device principles needed to solve challenges that industry cannot yet address - Erkan Aydin

LMU researcher Dr. Quinten Akkermann, leader of the Quantum Dot Synthesis and Characterization research group at the Nano-Institute Munich, is also working on fundamental aspects of perovskites. He is experimenting with perovskite crystals that are just a few nanometers in size – an order of magnitude in which quantum mechanical properties manifest themselves. In the technical jargon, objects like this are referred to as perovskite quantum dots. With their exceptional optical properties, perovskite quantum dots could form the basis for new bright and efficient LEDs, mini-lasers and quantum light sources. The latter are crucially important for future quantum technologies such as quantum communication and quantum computers because they can emit individual light particles in a controlled manner.

Through his project CONTROL, Akkerman was also recently awarded the Starting Grant of around 1.5 million euros by the European Research Council (ERC). With this project, running for the next 5 years, he is will buildg robotic synthesis platforms allow for redesigning the synthesis of perovskite quantum dots, and to improve their optical characteristics and surface chemistry. This facilitates the integration of these tiny quantum light emitters into the next generation of optoelectronic and quantum devices.

Professor Alexander Urban, also from the Nano-Institute Munich, as well is working on perovskite Nanocrystals. The LMU scientist has developed a tool that combines automated chemical synthesis, high-throughput characterization and data-driven modeling. This allows the growth of the nanocrystals to be controlled extremely precisely and their optical properties to be modulated – this is an important step on the path to delivering applications for the perovskite quantum dots in optoelectronics and quantum technologies.