Combined Stress Testing of Perovskite Solar Cells for Stable Operation in Space

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) could provide new low-cost opportunities for powering spacecraft. We are designing a PSC resilient to lunar surface conditions, focusing on contact/barrier layers combinations that maximize stability. Thermal vacuum stress shows cells with gold back-contacts and SiOx protection retain >90% of initial efficiency and indium tin oxide (ITO)-contacted cells retain ∼100% of initial efficiency after five months of stress. SiOx mitigates mechanical aspects of contact stress, retaining 99% of initial efficiency, whereas cells with silicone/cover glass decreased 27%. We further exposed cells to combined illumination, 75 °C heat, and 10–6 Torr vacuum for 24 h and found that ITO-contacted cells outperformed Au-contacted cells.