Analysis of performance decay in harsh space environment of perovskite solar cell

Photovoltaic devices employed in extra-terrestrial environments encounter high-energy particles and ionizing radiation that compromise their stability, intensifying lattice defects. This study presents a theoretical investigation into the radiation durability of perovskite based solar cells for prospective use in space missions. We simulated the structural damage caused by proton exposure on triple-cation mixed-halide perovskite cells operating in lunar orbit. A defect-based degradation model was employed to describe the correlation between proton fluence and performance decay, where the defect introduction rate (k) was varied to evaluate material radiation hardness. The results show a marked reduction in short circuit current (JSC) and a slight reduction in open circuit voltage (VOC) under 1 MeV proton fluence. The simulation outcomes confirm the strong radiation endurance of perovskite materials, which maintain stable photovoltaic performance even at proton fluence levels up to 1013 particles/cm2 and tolerable degradation up to 1015 cm− 2 even at elevated temperature (397 K). These simulation derived results validate the applicability of perovskite solar cells in extra-terrestrial environments.