Presentation Details
| Perovskite Space Power: Are We There Yet? Radiation, interfaces, and reliability metrics for LEO deployment Ahmad Kirmani. School of Chemistry & Materials Science, Rochester, NY, USA |
Abstract
Halide-perovskite photovoltaics are increasingly positioned as enabling technology for space power, driven by high specific power, manufacturability, and rapidly improving stability under extremes. However, broad credibility requires overcoming a persistent reliability bottleneck: degradation initiated at buried interfaces within the device stacks where incomplete coverage, interfacial electrochemistry, and non-radiative recombination accelerate degradation under stressors relevant to the low-Earth orbit (LEO). Building on foundational advances across the perovskites-for-space community in radiation testing, interface control, and lightweight barrier concepts, I will briefly review the field’s progression and then describe an interface- and barrier-centric architecture that tolerates multiple stressors relevant to LEO. The strategy integrates a bilayer HTL, a bilayer metal electrode, and an ultrathin oxide barrier layer, enabling tolerance to protons, thermal aging, ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, and reverse-bias stress. Unencapsulated devices aged at 65 °C under continuous 1.2-sun AM1.5G illumination with maximum-power-point tracking achieve T90 ≈ 3,000 h and T80 ≈ 5,900 h. Finally, I will discuss recent LEO flight heritage from a CubeSat payload, where the device stack retained 80% of initial performance for ~100 days in orbit. These results highlight the promise of perovskites for LEO space power and that practical deployment might be within reach.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.