Impact of Auger recombination on performance limitation of perovskite solar cell

Theoretical limit (or detailed balance limit) of photovoltaic performances of single-junction solar cell was estimated under consideration of radiative recombination, where the solar cell was assumed as blackbody with temperature (T) of 298.15 K. The detailed balance limit of the perovskite solar cell is furthermore calculated under considerations of not only radiative recombination but also Auger recombination. It is revealed that open-circuit voltage (V_OC) is primarily reduced with increasing the intrinsic density (n_i) and Auger recombination coefficient (C_p), thus decreasing the conversion efficiency (η). Under the E_g of 1.55 eV and n_i of 1 × 10⁷ cm⁻³, the η of perovskite solar cell is reduced from 31.41% (without Auger recombination consideration) to 28.92% with the increased C_p to 1 × 10⁻²⁹ cm⁶.s⁻¹. According to the result, the C_p should be lower than 1 × 10⁻³¹ cm⁶.s⁻¹ to avoid the impact of Auger recombination for the improved performances of perovskite solar cells, where it is suggested that the C_p can be reduced through band-structure engineering and alloying with other halide perovskites, thereby providing the avenues for material design. Furthermore, the effect of Shockley-Read-Hall recombination in the perovskite solar cell on its efficiency limit is discussed.