Jean-Marc Jancu

Bio: Jean-Marc Jancu is an academic researcher from European University of Brittany. The author has contributed to research in topics: Quantum well & Band gap. The author has an hindex of 24, co-authored 77 publications receiving 3827 citations. Previous affiliations of Jean-Marc Jancu include University of Rennes & Programme for International Student Assessment.

Importance of Spin–Orbit Coupling in Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Perovskites for Photovoltaic Applications

Abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) hybrid perovskites CH3NH3PbX3 (X = Br, I) have recently been suggested as new key materials for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) leading to a new class of hybrid semiconductor photovoltaic cells (HSPC). Thanks to density functional theory calculations, we show that the band gap of these compounds is dominated by a giant spin–orbit coupling (SOC) in the conduction-band (CB). At room temperature, direct and isotropic optical transitions are associated to a spin–orbit split-off band related to the triply degenerated CB of the cubic lattice without SOC. Due to the strong SOC, the electronic states involved in the optical absorption are only slightly perturbed by local distortions of the lattice. In addition, band offset calculations confirm that CH3NH3PbX3/TiO2 is a reference material for driving electrons toward the electrode in HSPC. Two-dimensional (2D) hybrids are also suggested to reach further flexibility for light conversion efficiency. Our study affords the basic concepts to re...

Empirical spds^* tight-binding calculation for cubic semiconductors : general method and material parameters

Abstract: An empirical tight-binding method for tetrahedrally coordinated cubic materials is presented and applied to group-IV and III-V semiconductors. The present ${\mathrm{spds}}^{*}$ method extends existing calculations by the inclusion of all five $d$ orbitals per atom in the basis set. On-site energies and two-center integrals between nearest neighbors in the Hamiltonian are fitted to measured energies, pseudopotential results, and the free-electron band structure. We demonstrate excellent agreement with pseudopotential calculations up to about 6 eV above the valence-band maximum even without inclusion of interactions with more distant atoms and three-center integrals. The symmetry character of the Bloch functions at the $X$ point is considerably improved by the inclusion of $d$ orbitals. Density of states, reduced masses, and deformation potentials are correctly reproduced.

Anharmonicity and Disorder in the Black Phases of Cesium Lead Iodide Used for Stable Inorganic Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract: Hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites emerged as a new generation of absorber materials for high-efficiency low-cost solar cells in 2009. Very recently, fully inorganic perovskite quantum dots also led to promising efficiencies, making them a potentially stable and efficient alternative to their hybrid cousins. Currently, the record efficiency is obtained with CsPbI3, whose crystallographical characterization is still limited. Here, we show through high-resolution in situ synchrotron XRD measurements that CsPbI3 can be undercooled below its transition temperature and temporarily maintained in its perovskite structure down to room temperature, stabilizing a metastable perovskite polytype (black γ-phase) crucial for photovoltaic applications. Our analysis of the structural phase transitions reveals a highly anisotropic evolution of the individual lattice parameters versus temperature. Structural, vibrational, and electronic properties of all the experimentally observed black phases are further inspected base...

Free-carrier screening of polarization fields in wurtzite GaN/InGaN laser structures

Abstract: The free-carrier screening of macroscopic polarization fields in wurtzite GaN/InGaN quantum well lasers is investigated via a self-consistent tight-binding approach. We show that the high carrier concentrations found experimentally in nitride laser structures effectively screen the built-in spontaneous and piezoelectricpolarization fields, thus inducing a “field-free” band profile. Our results explain some heretofore puzzling experimental data on nitride lasers, such as the unusually high lasing excitation thresholds and emission blue shifts for increasing excitation levels.

Free-carrier screening of polarization fields in wurtzite GaN/InGaN laser structures

Abstract: The free-carrier screening of macroscopic polarization fields in wurtzite GaN/InGaN quantum wells lasers is investigated via a self-consistent tight-binding approach. We show that the high carrier concentrations found experimentally in nitride laser structures effectively screen the built-in spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization fields, thus inducing a ``field-free'' band profile. Our results explain some heretofore puzzling experimental data on nitride lasers, such as the unusually high lasing excitation thresholds and emission blue-shifts for increasing excitation levels.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

The emergence of perovskite solar cells

Abstract: Within the space of a few years, hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite solar cells have emerged as one of the most exciting material platforms in the photovoltaic sector. This review describes the rapid progress that has been made in this area.

Low trap-state density and long carrier diffusion in organolead trihalide perovskite single crystals

Abstract: The fundamental properties and ultimate performance limits of organolead trihalide MAPbX3 (MA = CH3NH3(+); X = Br(-) or I(-)) perovskites remain obscured by extensive disorder in polycrystalline MAPbX3 films. We report an antisolvent vapor-assisted crystallization approach that enables us to create sizable crack-free MAPbX3 single crystals with volumes exceeding 100 cubic millimeters. These large single crystals enabled a detailed characterization of their optical and charge transport characteristics. We observed exceptionally low trap-state densities on the order of 10(9) to 10(10) per cubic centimeter in MAPbX3 single crystals (comparable to the best photovoltaic-quality silicon) and charge carrier diffusion lengths exceeding 10 micrometers. These results were validated with density functional theory calculations.

High-efficiency solution-processed perovskite solar cells with millimeter-scale grains

Abstract: State-of-the-art photovoltaics use high-purity, large-area, wafer-scale single-crystalline semiconductors grown by sophisticated, high-temperature crystal growth processes. We demonstrate a solution-based hot-casting technique to grow continuous, pinhole-free thin films of organometallic perovskites with millimeter-scale crystalline grains. We fabricated planar solar cells with efficiencies approaching 18%, with little cell-to-cell variability. The devices show hysteresis-free photovoltaic response, which had been a fundamental bottleneck for the stable operation of perovskite devices. Characterization and modeling attribute the improved performance to reduced bulk defects and improved charge carrier mobility in large-grain devices. We anticipate that this technique will lead the field toward synthesis of wafer-scale crystalline perovskites, necessary for the fabrication of high-efficiency solar cells, and will be applicable to several other material systems plagued by polydispersity, defects, and grain boundary recombination in solution-processed thin films.

High Charge Carrier Mobilities and Lifetimes in Organolead Trihalide Perovskites

Abstract: Organolead trihalide perovskites are shown to exhibit the best of both worlds: charge-carrier mobilities around 10 cm2 V−1 s−1 and low bi-molecular charge-recombination constants. The ratio of the two is found to defy the Langevin limit of kinetic charge capture by over four orders of magnitude. This mechanism causes long (micrometer) charge-pair diffusion lengths crucial for flat-heterojunction photovoltaics.