Researchers develop a new model to assess the internal luminescence quantum efficiency of perovskite films

A group of researchers at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the University of Heidelberg and the Technical University of Dresden have developed a new model to reliably and precisely determine the photoluminescence quantum yield of perovskite layers.

In their new paper, the research team shows how the novel method they developed can determine the photoluminescence quantum yield under solar irradiation conditions more precisely than previously assumed. 'It depends on the photon recycling, that is, the proportion of the photons emitted by the perovskite that is reabsorbed within the thin layers and re-emitted again, KIT scientist Paul Fassl explained.

The researchers applied their model to methylammonium lead triiodide (CH₃NH₃PbI₃), one of the perovskites with the highest photoluminescence quantum yield. This was previously estimated at around 90%, but the model calculations made by the German academics found this value to realistically be around 78%.

According to the scientists, the previous estimates had not adequately taken into account the effect of light scattering, which means that these estimates underestimated the probability that photons ' the quanta of light energy ' escape from the layer before they are reabsorbed.

'Our results show that the potential for optimizing these materials is significantly higher than previously assumed,' said Ulrich W. Paetzold, head of the Advanced Optics and Materials for Next Generation Photovoltaics group at KIT's Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT).

The research team provides an open-source application with which the photoluminescence quantum yield of various perovskite materials can be calculated using their model.