Performance analysis of perovskite solar cell in presence and absence of defects

Studies of the effect of defects in any solar cell are important in achieving a satisfactory level of its performance. A comparative study with a defect-free against the defect-induced cell carries instant and ready information on laboratory/industry-based fabricated cell performance, which is prone to unavoidably induced defects. In spite of good deal of works on defects of cells such a study in an organized and comparative way remains absent to the knowledge of the authors. Ready and classified presentation of such a study, therefore, is considered to be significant. Present work is a result of motivation to fulfil this gap. This article presents a study of the effects of bulk and interface defects in perovskite solar cells. On examining the effects of deep and shallow defect levels on key performance metrics such as open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current density, and fill factor, the resulting study discusses an analysis of the impact of the defects on cell efficiency. A defect-free cell with optimal perovskite, hole-transport layer (HTL), and electron-transport layer (ETL) dimensions are analysed simultaneously to assess the level at which the defects can degrade the performance of a defect-free cell. It is observed that the defects, particularly in the deep levels, significantly impair the performance of a cell, including the open circuit voltage, short circuit current density, fill factor, and efficiency, compared to those in shallow levels.