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Nick Huber

Publications and source records attributed to Nick Huber.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Divergent Solid-state Conversion Pathways in Evaporated All-perovskite Tandem Solar Cells

Sequential thermal evaporation (sTE) is emerging as a solvent-free route to high-quality mid-bandgap perovskites, but its extension to mixed-halide wide-bandgap (WBG) and Sn-Pb narrow-bandgap (NBG) absorbers for all-perovskite tandem solar cells (TSCs) remains limited by an incomplete understanding of solid-state conversion. Here, using time-sliced ex situ analysis, we reveal divergent solid-state conversion mechanisms in sequentially evaporated WBG and NBG precursor stacks. In WBG stacks, formamidinium (FA)-containing species penetrate the inorganic template and Br/I redistribution precedes substantial three-dimensional perovskite formation. The photoactive phase then crystallizes from a chemically mixed reservoir, and absolute PbBr$_2$ thickness, rather than nominal PbBr$_2$/PbI$_2$ ratio, determines the final bandgap. In NBG stacks, by contrast, an early Pb-rich perovskite phase forms upon formamidinium iodide deposition, restricting further FA penetration into the buried SnI$_2$ precursor. Subsequent annealing promotes rapid lattice reorganization faster than Sn/Pb interdiffusion, leaving vertical compositional gradients. Guided by these insights, we develop sTE absorbers with bandgaps spanning 1.26-1.96 eV and demonstrate the first evaporated all-perovskite TSC, reaching a power conversion efficiency of 19.2%. Encapsulated tandems retain on average 80% of their initial efficiency after 1,200 h at 65 $^\circ$C (ISOS-D-2). These results establish bandgap-specific control of solid-state conversion as a design principle for sequentially evaporated perovskite tandem photovoltaics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci

Deformation-induced topological transitions in mechanical metamaterials and their application to tunable non-linear stiffening

Mechanical metamaterials are periodic lattice structures with complex unit cell architectures that can achieve extraordinary mechanical properties beyond the capability of bulk materials. A new class of metamaterials is proposed, whose mechanical properties rely on deformation-induced transitions in nodal-topology by formation of internal self-contact. The universal nature of the principle presented, is demonstrated for tension, compression, shear and torsion. In particular, it is shown that by frustration of soft deformation modes, large highly non-linear stiffening effects can be generated. Tunable non-linear elasticity can be exploited to design materials mimicking the complex mechanical response of biological tissue.

physics.app-ph