Rationalizing Performance Losses of Wide Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells Evident in Data from the Perovskite Database

Abstract

Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have become a widely studied class of semiconductors for various optoelectronic devices. The possibility to tune their bandgap (Eg) over a broad spectral range from 1.2 eV to 3 eV by compositional engineering makes them particularly attractive for light emitting devices and multi-junction solar cells. In this metadata study, data from Peer-reviewed publications available in the Perovskite Database (www.perovskitedatabase.com) is used to evaluate the current state of Eg tuning in wide Eg MHP semiconductors. Recent literature on wide Eg MHP semiconductors is examined and the data is extracted and uploaded onto the Perovskite Database. Beyond describing recent highlights and scientific breakthroughs, general trends are drawn from 45,000 individual experimental datasets of MHP solar cell devices. The historical evolution of MHP solar cells is recapitulated, and general conclusions are drawn about the current limits of device performance. Three dominant causes are identified and discussed for the degradation of performance relative to the Shockley-Queisser (SQ) model's theoretical limit for single-junction solar cells: 1) energetically mismatched selective transport materials for wide Eg MHPs, 2) lower optoelectronic quality of wide Eg MHP absorbers, and 3) dynamically evolving compositional heterogeneity due to light-induced phase segregation phenomena.