Electroplated Copper Metal Contacts on Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

Electroplated copper contacts on small-area single-junction perovskite solar cells (PSCs) using an atomic layer deposited (ALD) Al₂O₃ masking layer on ITO are demonstrated for the first time. The photoconversion efficiency of ≈11% after manufacturing the Cu contacts confirms that PSCs can survive the wet-chemical plating process. From the successful realization of plated contact fingers, the creation of an electrical contact between the Cu electrode and the ITO on the FA_0.75Cs_0.25Pb(I_0.8Br_0.2)₃ perovskite absorber is inferred. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis shows the formation of a compact interface between ITO and plated Cu. An additional plating approach, using self-passivated aluminum as mask, allows to produce well-defined 30 μm wide Cu contacts on the PSC. Such a plating process allows for plating a low-resistive Cu grid simultaneously on both sides of a perovskite silicon heterojunction tandem solar cell with TCO, independent of substrate size.