Maximum Efficiencies and Performance-Limiting Factors of Inorganic and Hybrid Perovskite Solar Cells

The maximum conversion efficiencies of photovoltaic devices and performance-limiting factors of practical solar cells remain ambiguous, and thus the strict determination of current technological limits is of significant importance. This study develops an analytical scheme that allows the evaluation of realistic maximum-power conversion efficiencies of important inorganic and hybrid perovskite solar cells in conventional thin-film form. The authors show that, although efficiencies greater than 30% can be achieved for absorber layers with sharp absorption edges, many record-efficiency polycrystalline solar cells are limited by open-circuit voltage and fill-factor losses.