Radiation tolerance of perovskite solar cells under gamma ray

Abstract Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been developed rapidly in recent years, representing the most promising candidates for photovoltaics. Regarding their application in spacecraft, it is essential to exploring the space radiation tolerance of PSCs. In this paper, the mechanism of performance degradation of ternary cation (methylammonium (MA), formamidinium (FA) and cesium (Cs)) lead trihalide perovskite planar heterojunction (PHJ) solar cells under gamma-ray radiation was analyzed layer by layer. The results demonstrate that PSCs experience obvious performance degradation under gamma-ray irradiation, especially undergoing apparent recession of short-circuit current density ( J sc ) and accordingly power conversion efficiency (PCE). They are mainly attributed to the phase transition of perovskite films and the color appearance of the glass substrate induced by the irradiation, deteriorating the perovskite film absorbance and the substrate transmittance. These results serve as a strong necessity to improve the stability of PSCs for the future application in aerospace.