PhD offer in materials for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications

The ICube laboratory has about 700 members and brings together researchers of CNRS, University of Strasbourg and INSA of Strasbourg. It is a major driving force for research in Strasbourg with biomedical engineering and sustainable development as main areas of application.

We seek an excellent candidate for a PhD on "Chalcogenide and oxysulfide perovskites for optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications" under the supervision of Dr. Thomas FIX

https://thomasfix.fr

Inorganic thin film photovoltaic technologies are mainly based on CdTe, amorphous silicon or CIGS. Recently, Pb-based perovskite materials have emerged as a promising alternative but suffer from toxicity and stability. Perovskites are based on the ABX₃ formula. In halide perovskites, A is a monovalent organic or inorganic cation, B is an octahedrally coordinated divalent cation, and X is a monovalent halide such as Cl, Br, or I. Oxide perovskites also have the ABX₃ formula with A and B cations but X is an oxygen atom. However many oxides provide a high bandgap not compatible with the solar spectrum while halide perovskite are poorly stable. In chalcogenide perovskites, X is sulfur or selenium. While chalcogenide perovskites are still largely unexplored, several studies suggest that chalcogenide or oxysulfide perovskites can provide interesting semiconducting properties and a lower bandgap than oxide perovskites, together with enhanced stability.

The objective of this PhD is to explore chalcogenide and oxysulfide perovskites with low bandgap for photovoltaic and optoelectronic applications. First these materials will need to be synthesized in the form of films. Different techniques can be used such as pulsed laser deposition (PLD), sputtering, or solution processing. The films will be characterized for their structural, optical, electrical, surface and optoelectronic properties by different advanced techniques. The hosting laboratory is fully equipped with synthesis, characterization, semiconductor and solar cell device fabrication and measurement. A strong collaboration is in place with IPCMS for further structural analyses, and with IMN for advanced sulfuration.