Mimicking Outdoor Ion Migration in Perovskite Solar Cells: A Forward Bias, No-Light Accelerated Aging Approach

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are expected to transform the photovoltaic market; however, their unproven operational stability requires urgent attention, particularly accelerated aging tests. Currently, illumination is the primary stressor in such tests. In this work, we present an accelerated aging procedure consisting of prolonged forward biasing followed by a dark storage (postbias rest) phase, conducted entirely in the dark. During aging under forward bias, ion migration led to impeded charge transport, macroscopic defect growth, and an adverse response of the cells to short light soaking, all of which recovered in the postbias rest phase, yet resulted in increased recombination due to redistribution of ions. We found that outdoor operation of PSCs in Berlin, Germany, over a 20-month period exhibited similar dynamics, with periods of higher temperature and irradiance (spring-summer) aligning with the forward bias phase and cooler, dimmer periods (fall-winter) aligning with the postbias rest phase. This paves the way for accelerated aging tests that can mimic ion migration-induced degradation outdoors without requiring an illumination source.