Perovskite solar cells on the horizon for space power systems

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have generated an unprecedented amount of research activitiy since the breakthrough efficiencies of >10% by Lee et al. in 2012. PSCs have now surpassed other polycrystalline thin-film technologies in record-certified cell efficiencies of 25.5%, eclipsing more mature thin-film technologies like CIGS and CdTe within the last decade. Issues with scaling up to large areas still need to be addressed for commercialization as well as proven long-term stability with regard to moisture, thermal cycling, and illumination. However, the solution-processed methods for producing record cells offer hope for rapid deployment, low processing costs, and flexible architectures with a high specific power.