Tolerance of Perovskite Solar Cell to High-Energy Particle Irradiations in Space Environment

Yu Miyazawa; Masashi Ikegami; Hsin-Wei Chen; Takeshi Ohshima; Mitsuru Imaizumi; Kazuyuki Hirose; Tsutomu Miyasaka

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2018.03.020

Tolerance of Perovskite Solar Cell to High-Energy Particle Irradiations in Space Environment

iScience. 2018 Apr 27:2:148-155. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2018.03.020. Epub 2018 Mar 27.

Authors

Yu Miyazawa¹, Masashi Ikegami², Hsin-Wei Chen³, Takeshi Ohshima⁴, Mitsuru Imaizumi¹, Kazuyuki Hirose¹, Tsutomu Miyasaka⁵

Affiliations

¹ Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), 3-1-1 Yoshinodai, Chu-o-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5210, Japan.
² Graduate School of Engineering, Toin University of Yokohama, Kuroganecho 1614, Aoba, Yokohama, Kanagawa 225-8503, Japan.
³ Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Komaba 3-8-1, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan.
⁴ National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Watanuki 1233, Takasaki, Gunma 370-1292, Japan.
⁵ Graduate School of Engineering, Toin University of Yokohama, Kuroganecho 1614, Aoba, Yokohama, Kanagawa 225-8503, Japan. Electronic address: miyasaka@toin.ac.jp.

Abstract

Materials to be used in the space environment have to withstand extreme conditions, particularly with respect to cosmic particle irradiation. We report robust stability and high tolerance of organolead trihalide perovskite solar cells against high-fluence electron and proton beams. We found that methylammonium and formamidinium-based lead iodide perovskite solar cells composed of TiO₂ and a conductive polymer, as electron and hole transport materials, can survive against accumulated dose levels up to 10¹⁶ and 10¹⁵particles/cm² of electrons (1 MeV) and protons (50 KeV), respectively, which are known to completely destroy crystalline Si-, GaAS-, and InGaP/GaAs-based solar cells in spacecraft. These results justify the superior tolerance of perovskite photovoltaic materials to severe space radiations and their usefulness in satellite missions.

Keywords: Aerospace Engineering; Energy Materials; Materials Structure.