Proton‐Radiation Tolerant All‐Perovskite Multijunction Solar Cells

Abstract

Radiation‐resistant but cost‐efficient, flexible, and ultralight solar sheets with high specific power (W g−1) are the “holy grail” of the new space revolution, powering private space exploration, low‐cost missions, and future habitats on Moon and Mars. Herein, this study investigates an all‐perovskite tandem photovoltaic (PV) technology that uses an ultrathin active layer (1.56 µm) but offers high power conversion efficiency, and discusses its potential for high‐specific‐power applications. This study demonstrates that all‐perovskite tandems possess a high tolerance to the harsh radiation environment in space. The tests under 68 MeV proton irradiation show negligible degradation (<6%) at a dose of 1013 p+ cm−2 where even commercially available radiation‐hardened space PV degrade >22%. Using high spatial resolution photoluminescence (PL) microscopy, it is revealed that defect clusters in GaAs are responsible for the degradation of current space‐PV. By contrast, negligible reduction in PL of the individual perovskite subcells even after the highest dose studied is observed. Studying the intensity‐dependent PL of bare low‐gap and high‐gap perovskite absorbers, it is shown that the VOC, fill factor, and efficiency potentials remain identically high after irradiation. Radiation damage of all‐perovskite tandems thus has a fundamentally different origin to traditional space PV.

Tunable Photovoltaics: Adapting Solar Cell Technologies to Versatile Applications

“…Lightweight and flexible PVs are mostly vital for integration scheme with weight restrictions and curved surfaces such as in vehicles, greenhouses, wearable electronics and aerospace applications. [19,29,[196][197][198][199][200][201][202] While, stretchable SCs are relevant for wearable textile and portable devices. [41,[203][204][205] Furthermore, the size of PV devices can be adapted from upscaled integrated systems to miniature micro-cells.…”

“…For the applications in high-altitude satellites, unmanned aerospace aircrafts, orbital, and planetary space stations, PV technologies with high power-to-weight ratio, mechanically flexible and radiation hardness characteristics are typically desired. [19,197] Recently, apart from the standard c-Si and III-Vbased SCs, a growing interest was attributed to testing different emerging PV technologies such as perovskite and organic for potential aerospace applications (Figure 15f). [523,[539][540][541][542][543][544] This opens new opportunities for thermal and bandgap tuning in such thin-film PVs to further promote their integration.…”

“…[545,546] This could be extended as an indicative approach of bandgap tuning to match a particular solar spectrum available at different atmospheres for maximum power generation. [197] Extraterrestrial application scenarios, where SCs could be exposed to high energy degrading UV radiation, could benefit from spectral cooling approaches with UV-reflection features. [197] On the thermal tuning aspect, in the absence of convective media in space and exposure to extreme temperature fluctuations, thermal radiation is the dominant heat exchange channel for space SCs to cool down under solar irradiance.…”

“…[197] Extraterrestrial application scenarios, where SCs could be exposed to high energy degrading UV radiation, could benefit from spectral cooling approaches with UV-reflection features. [197] On the thermal tuning aspect, in the absence of convective media in space and exposure to extreme temperature fluctuations, thermal radiation is the dominant heat exchange channel for space SCs to cool down under solar irradiance. [170] Therefore, passive radiative cooling approaches present a strategic thermal tuning pathway for excess heat disposal in space.…”

Revealing Fundamental Efficiency Limits of Monolithic Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Photovoltaics through Subcell Characterization

“…Although a well-known technique in inorganic III–V based multijunction solar cells, − few works have used this methodology to analyze the efficiency, fill factor (FF), and open-circuit voltage ( V OC ) potential of perovskite tandem solar cells. While some publications used PL to study degradation within perovskite-based tandems, , only recently have EL measurements been used to selectively measure QFLS in the subcells . Arguably, however, PL measurements are advantageous as they can be performed on incomplete or partial cell stacks, therefore, revealing insights into the electro-optical quality of certain parts of the cells that are otherwise not accessible when measuring complete cells.…”