Modeling of Perovskite Solar Cells Under Cyclic Environmental Conditions with a Focus on Improving Stability

The Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have surpassed 26% laboratory efficiencies, making them promising for nextgeneration photovoltaic (PV) technologies. However, their commercial adoptions remain challenged by rapid degradation under fluctuating environmental conditions. While conventional drift-diffusion models focus on steady-state conditions, they do not capture the dynamic interplay between temperaturehumidity cycle and material degradation mechanisms that dictate long-term device stability. This paper introduces a novel, compact MATLAB-based drift-diffusion framework that incorporates daily cyclic environmental profiles and updates material parameters over time to simulate outdoor operating conditions realistically. The model integrates Poisson's and modified continuity equations, allowing key material properties such as carrier mobility, lifetime, and trap density, to dynamically respond to sinusoidal changes in temperature <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\left (\pm 10^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\right)$</tex> and relative humidity (<tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\pm 20 \%$</tex>), representative of natural diurnal cycles. Full validation against recent literature shows excellent agreement with simulated current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, spatial carrier distributions, and thermal responses matching experimental triple-cation PSCs data within 5%. By optimizing absorber thickness under environmental stress, the framework uncovers design rules that improve power conversion efficiency (<tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$P C E$</tex>) from 18.9 % to 20.2 % while enhancing longevity. The optimum thickness of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\sim 500 ~\text{nm}$</tex> balances absorption enhancement and recombination loss maintaining performance without degrading stability. This computationally efficient platform provides for researchers and industry practitioners a valuable tool for rapid pre-prototyping and stability screening, accelerating the transition from laboratory discoveries to practical commercial PSC products.