Perovskite solar cells: New Young Investigator Group funded by BMBF at HZB

In the COMET-PV project, Dr Artem Musiienko aims to significantly accelerate the development of perovskite solar cells. He is using robotics and AI to analyse the many variations in the material composition of tin-based perovskites. The physicist will set up a Young Investigator Group at HZB. He will also have an affiliation with Humboldt University in Berlin, where he will gain teaching experience in preparation for a future professorship.

Metal halide perovskites are a large class of materials that have been the subject of intense research for several years. Their semiconducting properties make them suitable for high-performance and low-cost solar cells, especially in tandem with solar cells made of silicon or other semiconductor materials. HZB teams have already achieved several world record efficiencies for tandem solar cells. However, competition is fierce, and there are an infinite number of possible variations in the perovskite class of materials. Achieving long-term stability remains a major hurdle, as perovskites are prone to degradation under real-world conditions, including moisture, heat, and light exposure. Additionally, ensuring the sustainability of these materials is crucial, as many high-performance perovskites rely on toxic or scarce elements. Overcoming these challenges requires innovative approaches in material design, interface engineering, and accelerated discovery techniques.

High-throughput measurements

This is where Dr Artem Musiienko's project comes in: his research project, now funded by the BMBF's NanoMatFutur programme, is called COMET-PV. Musiienko will set up a laboratory for optoelectronic high-throughput measurements with robotic support and automatic data evaluation. The research will focus on the class of tin-based perovskites. These materials are significantly behind lead-based perovskites in terms of development. However, the incorporation of tin into the perovskite layer is necessary in the long term due to its potential for higher efficiency, improved sustainability, and potentially greater stability. Tin-based perovskites offer a promising pathway to reducing environmental concerns associated with lead while also enabling novel electronic and optical properties that could enhance performance..

Uo to 100 times faster

‘Our goal is to accelerate materials research by a factor of 100. To achieve this, we are developing a new robotic approach that will also help us to compete for new records. Specifically, we want to reach an efficiency of over 35%,’ says Musiienko. Robotic support allows to analyse a large number of material compositions and measure their properties in a very short time. The data is analysed using artificial intelligence methods.

Partners in industry and research

The project is directly linked to industry and involves industrial partners from the chemical, robotics, instrumentation and solar cell production sectors. In addition, the physicist continues his collaboration with renowned international research institutions in the field of solar energy, including NREL (USA), KAUST (Saudi Arabia), KAUNAS (Lithuania), the University of Oxford (England), Southeast University in China.

On the scientist:

Artem Musiienko holds a PhD in Physics from Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. He was awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship in 2021 to pursue his research projects at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), where he focused on advanced characterization techniques, self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), and accelerated photovoltaic material discovery. Recently he was awarded the "Best Innovator Award" by the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) for his contributions to advanced characterization techniques and photovoltaic material discovery.

On the project:

COMET-PV - ‘Contactless High Throughput Tailoring of Materials and Interfaces Enabling Sustainable Nanoscale Tandem Photovoltaics’

Funding period: 5 years