Texture and air stability of magnetron sputtered lead halide perovskite thin films for electronics and solar cells

Full inorganic perovskites, especially in forms of thin films and quantum dots, are nowadays among the most interesting and studied materials for photovoltaics and photonics applications. In this race to obtain thin and homogeneous layers of semiconductors, we succeeded in depositing lead halide perovskites thin films by using an innovative methodology based on unreactive plasma magnetron sputtering. The advantages of this approach respect to the traditional wet chemistry are mainly related to the very high film homogeneity and the possibility to obtain deposits on almost all type of substrates. Despite the considerable progress made in the development of perovskite-based devices, the long term efficiency and the moisture stability of such materials remains a challenge. Indeed, substrate materials can stimulate degradation phenomena, while crystallographic texturing as well as the presence of defects, can decrease the photovoltaic efficiency. Aiming to develop a robust fabrication suitable route for producing high quality thin films of relevance for optoelectronic applications, we investigate the role of the substrate materials and the deposit’s thickness respect to air stability and crystallographic texture.