Presentation Details
| Recovery Dynamics in Perovskite Solar Cells under Proton Irradiation: A Comparison with III-V Solar Cells (yes) Tatchen Buh Kum1, Elijah Sacchitella1, Mohin Sharama2, Todd Byers2, Alex Tomkiewicz1, Bibhudutta Rout2, Seth Hubbard1, Ahmad Kirmani1. 1Nanopower Research Laboratories, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA.2Department of Physics, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA |
Abstract
With perovskite solar cells (PSCs) becoming increasingly promising for space power, understanding their radiation response and recovery dynamics is critical. Protons are energetic particles prevalent in near-Earth space environments that degrade electronics over time. We performed proton irradiation of PSCs at two distinct energies: 0.075 MeV (low energy) and 1 MeV (high energy). In our experiment, both energies create equivalent displacement damage through non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL), but 1 MeV protons have higher ionizing energy loss (IEL). We tracked device performance metrics over 24 hours following irradiation at fluences between 1×10¹³–1×10¹⁵ cm⁻², representative of up to 5 years in low Earth orbit (LEO). Our results reveal an energy-dependent dynamic recovery behavior. PSCs irradiated with 1 MeV protons show faster dynamic recovery in performance compared to 0.075 MeV proton irradiated devices. Combining electrical and photoluminescence characterization, this accelerated recovery suggests ionization-induced annealing plays a beneficial role in defect passivation. In contrast, NIEL-dominated low energy irradiation resulted in slower recovery due to more structural defects and deep-level traps. Importantly, this dynamic recovery was not observed in III-V solar cells under identical conditions, revealing a fundamental difference unique to metal-halide perovskite device architectures and highlighting the role of lattice softness. This self-healing behavior offers an advantage for developing radiation hard PSCs for long term space missions.
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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.