ERC Proof of Concept grant to develop measuring technique for halide perovskites

The European Research Council (ERC) announced that AMOLF group leader Erik Garnett is one of the recipients of an ERC Proof of Concept grant. Erik and three other researchers at AMOLF have developed a fully optical technique to measure processes in halide perovskite semiconductors. The sum of the Proof of Concept grant is €150.000, which will be used to develop prototype instruments.

The solar cell industry currently has an annual value of 200 billion US dollars and is expected to triple over the next ten years. During this period, halide perovskite – an emerging solar cell material – is projected to capture 20 percent of the market by being combined with the current market-leading silicon solar cells.

Erik is enthusiastic about halide perovskites: “The efficiency of this emerging solar material is outstanding, but ionic migration that occurs during solar cell operation leads to poor stability. This is the main factor limiting commercialization today.”

The new technique developed by Erik and his team is called Intensity Modulated Photoluminescence Spectroscopy (IMPLS). It overcomes the limitations of existing measurement methods. Erik explains: “We have developed a purely optical technique for measuring ionic, chemical, and defect processes in halide perovskite semiconductors.”

The Proof of Concept project aims to benchmark IMPLS against current techniques and to develop prototype instruments that address the stability challenges. Initial efforts will focus on the research market, with the long-term goal of expanding into larger development and manufacturing sectors.

AMOLF researchers involved in the IMPLS project are: Erik Garnett, Sarah Gillespie, Bruno Ehrler and Agustin Alvarez.

Would you like to know more about this promising solar cell material called halide perovskites? Then watch this video of Sarah Gillespie, pitching her research at the AMOLF network event.