Hysteresis and Its Correlation to Ionic Defects in Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract

Ion migration has been reported to be one of the main reasons for hysteresis in the current−voltage (J−V) characteristics of perovskite solar cells. We investigate the interplay between ionic conduction and hysteresis types by studying Cs 0.05 (FA 0.83 MA 0.17 ) 0.95 Pb-(I 0.9 Br 0.1 ) 3 triple-cation perovskite solar cells through a combination of impedance spectroscopy (IS) and sweep-rate-dependent J−V curves. By comparing polycrystalline devices to single-crystal MAPbI 3 devices, we separate two defects, β and γ, both originating from long-range ionic conduction in the bulk. Defect β is associated with a dielectric relaxation, while the migration of γ is influenced by the perovskite/hole transport layer interface. These conduction types are the causes of different types of hysteresis in J−V curves. The accumulation of ionic defects at the transport layer is the dominant cause for observing tunnel-diode-like characteristics in the J−V curves. By comparing devices with interface modifications at the electron and hole transport layers, we discuss the species and polarity of involved defects.