AlGaN as an electron transport layer for wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells

Perovskite solar cells are expected to be applied as photoreceivers for high-efficiency optical wireless power transfer for electric vehicles. The use of aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) as an electron transport layer (ETL) for wide-gap perovskite solar cells is hereby proposed in this paper. The electrical properties and energy-band alignment of AlGaN deposited by either hydride vapor phase epitaxy or metal-organic CVD are investigated. AlGaN shows a higher conduction band level than conventional ETL materials. Simulation of the performance of a perovskite solar cell with CH3NH3PbBr3 as the absorbing layer and AlGaN as the ETL was performed using a solar-cell capacitance simulator. The results suggest that AlGaN increases the power conversion efficiency of the solar cell by improving the conduction band offset between the perovskite layer and the ETL.