Single crystal Perovskite-Based solar Cells: Growth, Challenges, and potential strategies

The structural disorder, large grain boundaries, and significantly high defect density within polycrystalline perovskite solar cells (PC-PSCs) have raised the issue of their sustainability for an extended period. Therefore, single-crystal perovskite solar cells (SC-PSCs) have recently received significant attention in the fabrication of highly efficient and stable PSCs owing to their synergistic properties. The development of advanced SC-PSCs represents a promising pathway to fabricate highly efficient and stable perovskite-based solar cells. However, advances in the fabrication methods of SC-PSCs are needed to achieve equal or higher efficiency than that offered by the existing solar technology based on polycrystalline perovskite solar cells (PC-PSCs). Potential methods for growing SC-perovskite thin films with appropriate surface trap management must be explored to achieve an optimum efficiency closer to the Shockley-Queisser (S-Q) limit. This review highlights the potential methods for growing SC-perovskite thin films and their applications in SC-PSCs. In addition, this study also summarizes several critical factors related to SC-PSCs, including carrier dynamics, ion migration, defect densities, and stability. Our analysis also explores the possibilities of SC-PSCs for commercialization to establish a secure industrial symbiosis with circular cost-benefit analysis. This review aims to provide significant insights in the field of SC-PSCs and present the future challenges and possible solutions to render SC-PSCs as a successful futuristic photovoltaic technology.