Review on scanning probe microscopy analysis for perovskite materials and solar cells

Perovskite solar cells have had a tremendous impact since first proposed around 14 years ago. However, perovskite solar cells have difficulties in commercialization due to stability issues. A sound understanding of degradation pathways is required to improve their stability, enabling wide-scale deployment via commercialization. To achieve this, it is necessary to understand the fundamental material properties that play a critical role in determining the thin film properties and device performance. Electrical properties from the nanoscale perovskite crystalline play a key role to improve the performance and life time of perovskite devices, and scanning probe microscopy provides an understanding of the fundamental properties of perovskite materials and solar cells at the nanoscale. It helps to optimize device design, improve performance, address challenges, and ultimately assist in the development of solar cell technology for the future. In this review, an overview is presented of the key insights into perovskite material properties at the nanoscale provided by measurement methods based on scanning probe microscopy. Specifically, the manner in which conducting atomic force microscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy provide valuable information on electrical, passivation, hysteresis, and ion migration is discussed.