Crystal-facet-directed all-vacuum-deposited perovskite solar cells
Vacuum-based deposition is a scalable, solvent-free industrial method ideal for uniform coatings on complex substrates. However, all-vacuum-deposited perovskite solar cells fabricated by thermal evaporation trail solution-processed counterparts in efficiency and stability due to film quality challenges, necessitating advancement and improved understanding. Here, we report a co-evaporation route for 1.67-eV wide-bandgap perovskites by introducing a PbCl<sub>2</sub> co-source to optimize film quality. We promote perovskite formation with pronounced (100) 'face-up' orientation and deliver a certified all-vacuum-deposited solar cell with 18.35% efficiency (19.3% in the laboratory) for 0.25-cm<sup>2</sup> devices (18.5% for 1-cm<sup>2</sup> cells). These cells retain 80% of peak efficiency after 1,080 h under the ISOS-L-2 protocol. Leveraging operando hyperspectral imaging, we provide spatiotemporal spectral insight into halide segregation and trap-mediated recombination, correlating microscopic luminescence features with macroscopic device performance while distinguishing radiative from non-ideal recombination channels. We further demonstrate 27.2%-efficient 1-cm<sup>2</sup> evaporated perovskite-on-silicon tandem cells and outdoor stability of all-vacuum-deposited tandems in Italy, retaining ~80% initial performance after eight months.
Authors
- Karl‐Augustin Zaininger
- Marie Johnston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0124-4827)
- Shuaifeng Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7496-1566)
- Bryan Siu Ting Tam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7948-2801)
- David P. McMeekin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9216-2255)
- Matthew C. Naylor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6054-2982)
- Manuel Kober‐Czerny (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7807-3133)
- Perrine Carroy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3322-185X)
- Philippe Holzhey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3688-1607)
- Kilian B. Lohmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8322-5923)
- Fengning Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0648-3619)
- Junke Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5849-7297)
- Lirong Rong
- Yen‐Hung Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6819-1235)
- Vincent Barth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9239-2843)
- Jin Yao
- Qimu Yuan
- Wing Tung Hui
- Atse Louwen
- Seongrok Seo
- Xinyi Shen
- Henry J. Snaith
- Fion Sze Yan Yeung
- Nakita K. Noel
- M. Greyson Christoforo
Institutions
- Eurac Research (IT)
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK)
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR)
- RISE Research Institutes of Sweden (SE)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (DE)
- Laboratoire d’Innovation pour les Technologies des Énergies Nouvelles et les nanomatériaux (FR)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Materials
- Published
- 2026-02-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02494-w
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Perovskite Materials and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 21.93
Funders
- Diamond Light Source
- Government of the United Kingdom
- UK Research and Innovation
- University of Oxford
- European Commission
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
- National Taiwan University
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council