IP Library Granted Patent US 12,520,652
Granted Patent B2
US 12,520,652 · App. 18/277,157 · Granted Jan 6, 2026

Multilayer back contacts for perovskite photovoltaic devices

Inventors: Joseph Jonathan Berry (Boulder, CO); Le Chen (Fremont, CA); Axel Finn Palmstrom (Golden, CO); Tze-Bin Song (Fremont, CA); Vera Steinmann (Menlo Park, CA); Natasha Teran (San Leandro, CA); Aravamuthan Varadarajan (Fremont, CA); Xueping Yi (San Jose, CA); Zhibo Zhao (Novi, MI); Kai Zhu (Littleton, CO)
Assignees: First Solar, Inc.; Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC
H10K30/81H10K30/40H10K30/86H10K30/89H10K71/60H10K85/50H10K30/50
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,520,652
App. No.
18/277,157
Granted
Jan 6, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Photovoltaic devices having contact layers are described herein. Devices, intermediate structures, and methods for making multilayer contacts for perovskite photovoltaic devices are provided. Embodiments include back contacts for N-I-P structures.

Claims (52)

1 . A photovoltaic device comprising:

a perovskite absorber layer,

a hole transport layer over the perovskite absorber layer, and

a back contact in contact with the hole transport material, wherein the back contact comprises:

a conductor sublayer, comprising at least one metal;

a barrier sublayer between the hole transport layer and the conductor sublayer, wherein the barrier sublayer comprises at least one of a transition metal nitride or a metal oxynitride; and

a buffer sublayer,

wherein the buffer sublayer is adjacent to the hole transport layer,

the buffer sublayer comprises at least one of a metal oxide or a metal oxynitride;

the buffer sublayer is disposed between the hole transport layer and the barrier sublayer;

the buffer sublayer has a thickness less than 25 nm, and

wherein the buffer sublayer and the barrier sublayer are made from different materials.

2 . The photovoltaic device of claim 1 , wherein the buffer sublayer has a work function in a range from 5 eV to 10 eV.

3 . The photovoltaic device of claim 1 , wherein:

the buffer sublayer is deposited by evaporation; and

the buffer sublayer comprises a metal oxynitride.

4 . The photovoltaic device of claim 1 , wherein the buffer sublayer comprises at least one of: molybdenum oxide (MoO x ), bismuth telluride (BiTe 3 ), vanadium oxide (VO x ), tungsten oxide (WO x ), titanium oxide (TiO x ), copper oxide (CuO x ), or zinc oxide (ZnO x ).

5 . The photovoltaic device of claim 1 , wherein the buffer sublayer has a thickness of 0.5 nm to 25 nm in a contiguous film over the hole transport layer.

6 . The photovoltaic device of claim 1 , wherein:

the conductor sublayer is a metal layer, comprising aluminum, copper, or combinations thereof; and

the conductor sublayer has a thickness of 100-2000 nm.

7 . The photovoltaic device of claim 1 , wherein:

the barrier sublayer is adjacent to the buffer sublayer, and the barrier sublayer has a thickness in a range of 1-50 nm.

8 . The photovoltaic device of claim 1 , wherein:

the barrier sublayer is adjacent to the buffer sublayer;

the barrier sublayer has a thickness in a range of 1-50 nm; and

the barrier sublayer comprises at least one of: molybdenum nitride (MoN x ), aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), silicon oxide (SiO 2 ), silicon oxynitride (SiNO x ), titanium nitride (TiN x ), chromium nitride (CrN x ), tin oxide (SnO x ), tin-gallium oxide (GaOSn), aluminum nitride (AIN), nickel nitride (Ni 3 N), titanium nitride (TiN), tungsten nitride (WN x ), selenium nitride (SeN x ), tantalum nitride (TaN), vanadium nitride (VN), molybdenum oxynitride (MoN x O y ), or zirconium oxynitride (ZrO x N y ).

9 . The photovoltaic device of claim 1 , further comprising a protective sublayer disposed over and adjacent to the conductor sublayer, wherein:

the protective sublayer has a thickness of 100-500 nm; and

the protective sublayer comprises chromium.

10 . The photovoltaic device of claim 1 , wherein the hole transport layer comprises at least one of PTAA, P3HT, P3HT-COOH, PEDOT: PSS, TTF-1, SGT-407, Spiro-OMeTAD, NiOx, CuSCN, or Cul.

11 . A back contact for a perovskite photovoltaic device, having a perovskite absorber layer and a hole transport layer, the back contact comprising:

a buffer sublayer disposed adjacent to the hole transport layer,

wherein the buffer sublayer has a thickness in a range of 1-30 nm, and

the buffer sublayer comprises a metal oxide or a metal oxynitride;

a barrier sublayer disposed adjacent to the buffer sublayer,

wherein the barrier sublayer has a thickness in a range of 5-50 nm, and

the barrier sublayer comprises a transition metal nitride or a metal oxynitride; and

a conductor sublayer disposed over the buffer sublayer,

wherein the conductor sublayer has a thickness in a range of 100-3500 nm, and

the conductor sublayer comprises at least one material selected from: aluminum, copper or silver,

wherein the buffer sublayer and the barrier sublayer are made from different materials.

12 . The back contact layer of claim 11 , wherein the buffer sublayer has a thickness in a range of 5 nm to 25 nm, and the barrier sublayer has a thickness in a range of 5 nm to 25 nm.

13 . The back contact layer of claim 11 , further comprising a protective sublayer, wherein:

the protective sublayer comprises at least one of chromium or nickel;

the protective sublayer is disposed over and adjacent to the conductor sublayer; and

the protective sublayer has a thickness in a range of 100-2000 nm.

14 . The back contact layer of claim 11 , wherein:

the buffer sublayer comprises at least one of: molybdenum oxide, bismuth telluride, or vanadium oxide; and

the barrier sublayer comprises at least one of: molybdenum nitride, tin oxide, silicon oxide, silicon oxynitride, titanium nitride, or chromium nitride.

15 . The photovoltaic device of claim 1 , wherein the hole transport layer comprises a carbazole-based self-assembled monolayer.

16 . The photovoltaic device of claim 15 , wherein the carbazole-based self-assembled monolayer comprises at least one of: 2PACz, MeO-2PACz, or Me-4PACz.

Assignments (5)
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Dec 16, 2025
From: ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, LLC
To: ALLIANCE FOR ENERGY INNOVATION, LLC
Reel/Frame 073993/0276 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 11, 2025
From: FIRST SOLAR INC.
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 072887/0601 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 2, 2024
From: CHEN, LE; SONG, TZE-BIN; STEINMANN, VERA; TERAN, NATASHA; VARADARAJAN, ARAVAMUTHAN; YI, XUEPING; ZHAO, ZHIBO
To: FIRST SOLAR, INC.
Reel/Frame 068165/0666 →
CONFIRMATORY LICENSE Recorded Jan 23, 2024
From: NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY
To: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Reel/Frame 066211/0919 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 21, 2023
From: BERRY, JOSEPH JONATHAN; PALMSTROM, AXEL FINN; ZHU, KAI
To: ALLIANCE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, LLC
Reel/Frame 064646/0979 →