Impact of a Short-Pulse High-Intense Proton Irradiation on High-Performance Perovskite Solar Cells

This work investigates the radiation resistance of high-performance multi-component perovskite solar cells (PSCs) for the first time under extreme short-pulse proton irradiation conditions. The devices are subjected to high-intensity 170 keV pulsed (150 ns) proton irradiation, with a fluence of up to 1013 p cm-2, corresponding to approximate to 30 years of operation at low Earth orbit. A complex material characterization of the perovskite active layer and device physics analysis of the PSCs before and after short-pulse proton irradiation is conducted. The obtained results indicate that the photovoltaic performance of the solar cells experiences a slight deterioration up to 20 % and 50 % following the low 2 x 1012 p cm-2 and high 1 x 1013 p cm-2 proton fluences, respectively, due to increased non-radiative recombination losses. The findings reveal that multi-component PSCs are immune even to extreme high-intense short-pulse proton irradiation, which exceeds harsh space conditions, including intense coronal ejection events usually associated with solar flares. A comprehensive analysis of device physics of high-performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is conducted before and after a short-pulse 170 keV proton irradiation with a fluence of up to 1013 p cm-2. The findings highlight the remarkable resilience of multicomponent PSCs to extreme high-intensity short-pulse proton irradiation, which exceeds harsh space conditions and whose effect on PSCs is not investigated previously.image