Ultra-long charge carrier recombination time in methylammonium lead halide perovskites

Abstract: Due to their exceptional photovoltaic properties, metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are extensively studied for their potential applications in solar cells. In recent years, the power conversion efficiencies of MHPs-based solar cells rapidly increased from the initial few \% towards more than 25\,\% for single-junction devices. Therefore, also taking into account their low costs and ease of manufacturing, MHPs-based solar cells have become the fastest-advancing photovoltaic technology. In this regard, much of the recent work has been dominated by absorber materials based on methylammonium MHPs, such as MAPbX$_3$, where MA=CH$_3$NH$_3$ and X=Cl, Br and I. Here, we present the results of contactless time-resolved photoconductivity measurements in an exceptionally wide range of temperatures of $4$ to $290\ \text{K}$ that were performed for the various crystalline forms of the three parent MAPbX$_3$, i.e., MAPbCl$_3$, MAPbBr$_3$ and MAPbI$_3$. This approach was made possible by the use of a high quality-factor (Q) microwave resonator, which cooperated with a commercially available microwave bridge equipped with an automatic frequency control (AFC) and a helium gas-flow cryostat.