Superior Photo-carrier Diffusion Dynamics in Organic-inorganic Hybrid Perovskites Revealed by Spatiotemporal Conductivity Imaging

The outstanding performance of organic-inorganic metal trihalide solar cells benefits from the exceptional photo-physical properties of both electrons and holes in the material. Here, we directly probe the free-carrier dynamics in Cs-doped FAPbI3 thin films by spatiotemporal photoconductivity imaging. Using charge transport layers to selectively quench one type of carriers, we show that the two relaxation times on the order of 1 microsecond and 10 microseconds correspond to the lifetimes of electrons and holes in FACsPbI3, respectively. Strikingly, the diffusion mapping indicates that the difference in electron/hole lifetimes is largely compensated by their disparate mobility. Consequently, the long diffusion lengths (3 ~ 5 micrometers) of both carriers are comparable to each other, a feature closely related to the unique charge trapping and de-trapping processes in hybrid trihalide perovskites. Our results unveil the origin of superior diffusion dynamics in this material, crucially important for solar-cell applications.