Background and Basic Knowledge of Perovskite Solar Cells

Photovoltaic systems convert the sun's energy directly into electricity through the application of semiconductor materials that utilize the so-called photovoltaic effect or photovoltaic phenomenon. The discovery of silicon (Si) p–n junction in the 1950s offered a significant boost to the development of solar cells as these p–n junction structures exhibited better rectifying ability than the Schottky ones and hence delivered better photovoltaic behavior. Dye-sensitized solar cells are much different in their architecture and working principle compared to the p–n junction Si photovoltaics. Organic solar cells are layered structures consisting of an organic photoactive layer sandwiched between two opposite electrodes. The most efficient perovskite solar cells are the mesoscopic ones as they allow larger portion of the incident light to be absorbed while also exhibiting a high surface area between the perovskite absorber and the bottom electron transport layer.