Combatting temperature and reverse-bias challenges facing perovskite solar cells

Summary

Although lead-halide perovskite solar cells have shown outstanding energy conversion efficiencies, limited stability has impeded upscaling and remains a major challenge for commercialization, despite steady progress in this area. However, experience shows that the most demanding durability issues for fielded modules arise when cells become reverse biased, which poses challenges even for substantially more robust silicon cells. As the momentum for commercialization continues to grow, resolution of these reverse-bias effects is destined to become increasingly important. Innovative approaches may well be required since the intrinsic stability of these perovskites are unlikely ever to match silicon. This article identifies the additional challenges faced by perovskite solar cells under reverse-bias operation and outlines strategies for addressing them in terms of both cell connections within the module and bypass diode protection.