Effects of Electron and Proton Radiation on Perovskite Solar Cells for Space Solar Power Application

We report the effects of high energy electron and proton radiation on perovskite solar cells. For irradiation with 1 MeV electrons, at fluence from 10 ¹² to 10 ¹⁶ cm ^-2 , there are no significant changes in the morphology and the crystal phase in the perovskites, and the perovskite solar cells show only slight degradation in photovoltaic performance and spectral response. The results from Monte Carlo simulations show most of the electrons completely penetrate through all of the layers of solar cells with little scattering. In addition, 50 keV proton radiation with fluence of 10 ¹² cm ^-2 has no significant impact on the open-circuit voltage or short-circuit current, and degrades only the fill factor. We have further found that the fill factor can be restored with a vacuum annealing process. The results suggest that perovskites have superior electron and proton radiation tolerance, and thus hold particular promise for space applications.