Quantifying the Interface Defect for the Stability Origin of Perovskite Solar Cells

Abstract The stability issue that is obstructing commercialization of the perovskite solar cell is widely recognized, and tremendous effort has been dedicated to solving this issue. However, beyond the apparent thermal and moisture stability, more intrinsic semiconductor mechanisms regarding defect behavior have yet to be explored and understood. Herein, defects are quantified; especially interface defects, within the cell to reveal their impact on device performance and especially stability. Both the bulk and interface defects are distinguished and traced in situ using an expanded admittance model when the cell degrades in its efficiency under illumination or voltage. The electric field‐induced interface, rather than bulk defects, is found to have a direct correlation to stability. Releasing the interface strain using a fullerene derivative is an effective way to suppress interface defect formation and improve stability. Overall, this work provides a quantitative approach to probing the semiconductor mechanism behind the stability issue, and the inherent correlation discovered here among the electric field, interface strain, interface defects, and cell stability has important implications for ongoing device stability engineering.