Advancing perovskite photovoltaics for space: critical stability testing guidelines

Yifan Zheng; Guodong Zhang; Zicai Shen; Jianhui Bin; Deying Luo; Rui Zhu; Yuchuan Shao

doi:10.1117/1.AP.7.3.030502

Advanced Photonics, Volume. 7, Issue 3, 030502(2025)

Advancing perovskite photovoltaics for space: critical stability testing guidelines

Yifan Zheng¹, Guodong Zhang¹, Zicai Shen², Jianhui Bin¹, Deying Luo³, Rui Zhu⁴, and Yuchuan Shao^1、*

Author Affiliations

¹Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Shanghai, China

²Beijing Institute of Spacecraft Environment Engineering, Beijing, China

³Beihang University, International Institute for Interdisciplinary and Frontiers, Beijing, China

⁴Peking University, School of Physics, Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructure and Mesoscopic Physics, Beijing, China

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Figures & Tables(3)

Fig. 1. Illustration of suggested performance checklist for space PSC.

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Fig. 2. (a) Typical schematic diagram of temperature settings for one cycle in the thermal cycling test. TC-1 refers to a thermal shock of ±100°C (Basic Grade), TC-2 refers to a thermal shock of ±120°C (Enhanced Grade), and TC-3 refers to a thermal shock of ±150°C (Extreme Grade). The dwell time at both the highest and lowest temperatures is set at 0.2 hours (12 minutes), with the total duration of a single thermal cycle being 2 hours. The initiation of each thermal cycle is indicated by the J-V test time point, and an efficiency test is conducted once per cycle. (b) The device structure of the PSC is: $ITO / {NiO}_{X} / MeO - 4 {PADCB / Cs}_{0.05} {FA}_{0.85} {MA}_{0.1} {PbI}_{3} /$ ${CF}_{3} - PEAI / C_{60} / BCP / Ag$ . The J-V test is conducted every 10 thermal cycles. To ensure accuracy, 10 samples are measured, and the mean value along with the standard deviation is subsequently calculated. (c) Schematic representation of the LDA setup, in which the performance of the PSC was measured in situ under 1-sun conditions during proton irradiation. (d) Normalized PCE decay curves are presented at equivalent proton radiation doses for varying duration of LEO orbits.

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Table 1. Suggested checklist for stability assessment of space PSCs.

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Table 1. Suggested checklist for stability assessment of space PSCs.


Key aspects	Characteristic details to be reported
Thermal Shock^a	Thermal Cycling Test Specifications
Basic Grade (TC-1)
±100°C (temperature ramp rate ≥1.67°C/min)
Enhanced Grade (TC-2)
±120°C (temperature ramp rate ≥2°C/min)
Extreme Grade (TC-3)
±150°C (temperature ramp rate ≥2.5°C/min)
Test Period Specifications
Basic Grade
1000 cycles
(3 months mission simulation)
Enhanced Grade
20,000–30,000 cycles
(3–5 year mission simulation)
Evaluation Criteria
Structural Integrity
No interlayer delamination or electrode detachment observed
Photovoltaic Performance
PCE degradation ≤15% from the initial value
(measured under AM1.5G, 1-sun illumination)
High-Energy Particle Radiation Resistance^b	Proton Irradiation Test Specifications
Basic Grade (PI-1)
0.1 MeV, $3 \times 10^{13} p / {cm}^{2}$
2 MeV, $6.6 \times 10^{14} p / {cm}^{2}$
(3-year mission simulation)
Enhanced Grade (PI-2)
0.1 MeV, $1 \times 10^{14} p / {cm}^{2}$
2 MeV, $2.2 \times 10^{15} p / {cm}^{2}$
(10-year mission simulation)
Evaluation Criteria
Photovoltaic Performance
PCE degradation ≤15% (Basic Grade)
PCE degradation ≤20% (Enhanced Grade)
Dark current increase ≤30%
Vibration Endurance	Vibration Resistance Test
Launch Phase Simulation
Broadband random vibration 5–2000 Hz
Acceleration spectral density 10–20 g²/Hz
Duration ≥3 minutes
Triaxial loading
On-orbit phase simulation
High-frequency micro-vibration 10–1000 Hz
Acceleration spectral density 0.1–5 g²/Hz
Simulating deployment mechanism dynamic loads
Duration ≥10 hours.
Bending Test Specifications
Bending radius 1 mm
Cycle count 10⁵
Evaluation Criteria
Post-bending PCE degradation ≤8%
No substrate cracking or electrode fracture
Atomic Oxygen Erosion Resistance	Test Specification
Flux 3 × 10²⁰ atoms/cm²
AO energy 5–8 eV
Beam uniformity ≥95%
Fully encapsulated devices
(3-year mission simulation)
Evaluation Criteria
Mass loss rate ≤5%
Transmittance attenuation at 850 nm wavelength ≤10%
Short-circuit current (I_SC) degradation ≤15%
Moisture Resistance^c	Humidity Test Specifications
3 months storage under constant conditions of 45°C/95% RH in an environmental chamber
Evaluation Criteria
Water absorption rate of encapsulation layer ≤3%
Increase in device series resistance ≤20%
No visible mold spots or electrolyte leakage observed
Specific Power^d	Definition
The ratio of device output power to total mass (including encapsulation, substrate, and electrodes), used for product performance grading.
Production Classification
Grade A
>2.5 W/g (efficiency: >25%)
Grade B
1.8–2.2 W/g (efficiency: 22%–24%)
Grade C
1.2–1.5 W/g (efficiency: 18%–20%)
Outgassing Test	Outgassing Test Specifications
The device was placed under a vacuum of 1 × 10⁻⁴ Pa at a temperature of 125°C (257°F) and operated for 24 hours. Afterwards, its total mass loss (TML) and collected volatile condensable materials (CVCMs) were tested.
Evaluation Criteria
TML ≤1%
CVCM ≤0.1%

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Yifan Zheng, Guodong Zhang, Zicai Shen, Jianhui Bin, Deying Luo, Rui Zhu, Yuchuan Shao, "Advancing perovskite photovoltaics for space: critical stability testing guidelines," Adv. Photon. 7, 030502 (2025)

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Paper Information

Category: News and Commentaries

Received: --

Accepted: --

Published Online: Jul. 2, 2025

The Author Email: Yuchuan Shao (shaoyuchuan@siom.ac.cn)

DOI:10.1117/1.AP.7.3.030502

CSTR:32187.14.1.AP.7.3.030502

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laser devices and laser physics

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