Life on the Urbach Edge

0566170 - FZÚ 2023 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Ugur, E. - Ledinský, Martin - Allen, T.G. - Holovský, Jakub - Vlk, Aleš - De Wolf, S.
Life on the Urbach Edge.
Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters. Roč. 13, č. 33 (2022), s. 7702-7711. ISSN 1948-7185
R&D Projects: GA MŠMT EF16_026/0008382; GA MŠMT(CZ) LUASK22202
Research Infrastructure: CzechNanoLab - 90110
Institutional support: RVO:68378271
Keywords : hydrogenated amorphous silicon * halide perovskites * optical properties * solar cells * band gap * absorption * efficiency * methylammonium * heterojunction * spectroscopy
OECD category: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.)
Impact factor: 5.7, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c01812

The Urbach energy is an expression of the static and dynamic disorder in a semiconductor and is directly accessible via optical characterization techniques. The strength of this metric is that it elegantly captures the optoelectronic performance potential of a semiconductor in a single number. For solar cells, the Urbach energy is found to be predictive of a material’s minimal open-circuit-voltage deficit. Performance calculations considering the Urbach energy give more realistic power conversion efficiency limits than from classical Shockley−Queisser considerations. The Urbach energy is often also found to correlate well with the Stokes shift and (inversely) with the carrier mobility of a semiconductor. Here, we discuss key features, underlying physics, measurement techniques, and implications for device fabrication, underlining the utility of this metric.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0337603