Proton Radiation Hardness of Perovskite Solar Cells Utilizing a Mesoporous Carbon Electrode

Abstract

When designing spacefaring vehicles and orbital instrumentation, the onboard systems such as microelectronics and solar cells require shielding to protect them from degradation brought on by collisions with high‐energy particles. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been shown to be much more radiation stable than Si and GaAs devices, while also providing the ability to be fabricated on flexible substrates. However, even PSCs have their limits, with higher fluences being a cause of degradation. Herein, a novel solution utilizing a screen‐printed, mesoporous carbon electrode to act bi‐functionally as an encapsulate and the electrode is presented. It is demonstrated that the carbon electrode PSCs can withstand proton irradiation up to 1 × 1015 protons cm−2 at 150 KeV with negligible losses (<0.07%) in power conversion efficiency. The 12 μm thick electrode acts as efficient shielding for the perovskite embedded in the mesoporous TiO2. Through Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy, results suggest that the structural properties of the perovskite and carbon remain intact. Simulations of the device structure show that superior radiation protection comes in conjunction with good device performance. This work highlights the potential of using a carbon electrode for future space electronics which is not limited to only solar cells.

Effect of Hole Transport Materials and Their Dopants on the Stability and Recoverability of Perovskite Solar Cells on Very Thin Substrates after 7 MeV Proton Irradiation

“…Organometal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are becoming promising for space applications. [4][5][6] Compared to solar cells based on group III-V materials for space applications, perovskite have a lower manufacturing cost [7][8][9][10] and comparable [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] or even better [25,26] radiation tolerance. In addition, bandgaps of perovskites are tunable making them suitable for multijunction tandems with high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs).…”

“…Recently, it has been shown that PSC with carbon rear electrode can withstand 150 keV proton irradiation with accumulated fluence of 10 15 photons cm −2 with minimum (<0.07%) PCE loss. [24] This is outstanding as the proton irradiation fluence is equivalent to ≈1000 years of irradiation on the low earth orbits (LEOs).…”

Large-area all-perovskite-based coplanar photoelectrodes for scaled-up solar hydrogen production

“…S6, ESI†). 42 At low wavenumbers, intermediate phase II (green) showed Raman peaks identical to those of intermediate phase I, and at high wavenumbers, there was no increase in the Raman signal. On the other hand, the Raman mapping image of the CHAI-antisolvent-bathed sample exhibited three different phases, including intermediate phase I (orange).…”

Recent Progress in Perovskite Solar Cells: Status and Future

“…As shown in Figure 5, they found that PSCs based on TFMS 30 second-doped CNT obtained a champion PCE of 17.56%, with enhanced stability. Other carbon materials have been reported, such as mesoporous carbon [219], carbon nanofiber [220], graphite [221], and graphene [222].…”