Scalable Manufacturing of Single Crystalline Halide Perovskite Film via Interface Engineering

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY

Investigators

Abstract

Epitaxy is a process of growing a material of a well-defined orientation on a host substrate and is critical to forming useful materials for the semiconductor-based microelectronics and renewable energy industries. This award supports research into remote epitaxy in which an epitaxial relation is established remotely between film and substrate though an intervening layer possessing a different structure and symmetry than present at the interface. Remote epitaxy potentially allows for the formation of thin films which can be removed from the host substrate and integrated into other systems increasing flexibility in the design of innovative semiconductor devices. This award looks to the use of a novel intervening layer of amorphous materials which would allow the scalable manufacturing of remote epitaxial films. The award supports research generating basic knowledge important to scalability including suppressing dislocations and grain boundaries critical to the subsequent applications. Wafer-scale single crystalline halide perovskite films are studied for emerging optoelectronics and electronics for energy and information applications. This award will benefit the U.S. economy and advance national prosperity by promoting the progress of science in advanced manufacturing within critical technologies. The award will also promote engineering research training of underrepresented groups and undergraduate/graduate engineering education. The award establishes the theoretical, computational, and experimental knowledge bases enabling defect-controlled wafer-scale epitaxial thin film growth. Iterative computational and experimental approaches are used to understand the atomic mechanisms controlling remote heteroepitaxy by tuning the film-substrate interaction through use of ultrathin amorphous buffer layers of controlled thickness and dielectric constant. Supported by molecular-level simulations and structural/chemical and optical/electrical characterization studies, a basic understanding is developed on the role of thickness, chemistry and dielectric properties of the amorphous buffer layer and lattice mismatch of substrate on strain, orientation, defects, morphology and optoelectronic/electronic property of remote epitaxial films. An interface engineering strategy to achieve defects-controlled wafer-scale transferable epitaxial thin film. The award will advance the fundamental knowledge of epitaxy science, interface engineering and optoelectronic property-structure relation of technologically important semiconducting halide perovskites for energy and electronic applications. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.