Nickel oxide (NiO) is one of the most promising and high-performing Hole Transporting Layer (HTL) in inverted perovskite solar cells due to ideal band alignment with perovskite absorber, wide band gap, and high mobility of charges. At the same time, however, NiO does not provide good contact and trap-free junction for hole collection. In this paper, we examine this problem by developing a double hole transport configuration with a copper iodide (CuI) interlayer for efficient surface passivation. Transient photo-current (TPC) measurements showed that Perovskite/HTL interface with CuI interlayer has an improved hole injection; CuI passivation reduces the concentration of traps and the parasitic charge accumulation that limits the flow of charges. Moreover, we found that CuI protect the HTL/perovskite interface from degradation and consequently improve the stability of the cell. The presence of CuI interlayer induces an improvement of open-circuit voltage V_OC (from 1.02 V to 1.07 V), an increase of the shunt resistance R_SH (100%), a reduction of the series resistance R_S (−30%), and finally a +10% improvement of the solar cell efficiency.

Owing high conductivity in microcrystalline thin-films, CsSnI3 perovskite is a promising semiconductor for thermoelectrics and optoelectronics. Rapid oxidation of thin-film and intrinsic lattice strain hinders stabilization of the device performance. Cation engineering of perovskite molecule was considered as an effective strategy to tailor the structural properties and suppress the degradation processes. However, molecular engineering demands a thorough analysis of defect behavior, as it can influence ionic motion, recombination dynamics, and capacitive effects. The effective implementation of CsSnI3 in energy conversion devices requires careful consideration of the specific properties of thin films electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, power factor, as well as electronic transients, and charge transport in the device structures. In this work, we performed a complex investigation for modified CsSnI3 through cation substitution with methyl ammonium (MA) and formamidinium (FA). Our findings highlight a complex interplay between electrical parameters of the bare thin films and stability of the devices (p-i-n diodes) after thermal stress. FA-CsSnI3 showed beneficial results for stabilization under elevated temperatures with improved non-ideality factor in diode structures, enhanced shunt properties and reduced trapping. The photo-induced voltage relaxation spectroscopy performed for MA-CsSnI3 showed relevant traps concentration of 1016 cm-3 with activation energy of 0.52 eV(210K) likely attributed to Sn atom defect. The obtained results are deeply analyzed and discussed.

CsSnI3 perovskite is a promising thin-film semiconductor with high intrinsic conductivity for various device applications (thermoelectric, photovoltaics, etc.). Stoichiometric CsSnI3 owns high-density of defects and structural imperfections affecting device performance. In this work, we made an investigation on A-site cation engineering to evaluate the correlation between structural and transport parameters for effective operation in rectifying devices. Here, we analyzed CsSnI3 thin films modified with methylamine (MA), formamidine(FA), guanidine(GuA) and 5-ammonium valeric acid (AVA) cations, correlating structural parameters obtained by Rietveld refinement with their optoelectronic and diode characteristics. MA-, FA-, and GuA-substituted films exhibited low sheet resistance (450-2200 Ohm per sq). However, strain-induced lattice distortions and accumulated defects in GuA-substituted films significantly hindered effective charge collection and increased recombination losses. AVA substitution formed low-conductivity 2D interlayers, dramatically increasing resistance (105 Ohm per sq) and altering transient response characteristics, yet provided minimal reverse-switching losses (100 uW per cm2), beneficial for high-frequency applications. FA substitution emerged as optimal, balancing structural stability, conductivity, minimal defects, and superior diode properties. The obtained results highlight that targeted lattice modifications strongly influence the practical performance of rectifying p-i-n diodes based on CsSnI3.