Beginner's guide to visual analysis of perovskite and organic solar cell current density-voltage characteristics

Abstract

The current density-voltage characteristic (JV) is a critical tool for understanding the behaviour of solar cells. In this article, we present an overview of the key aspects of JV analysis and introduce a user-friendly flowchart that facilitates the swift identification of the most probable limiting process in a solar cell, based mainly on the outcomes of light-intensity-dependent JV measurements. The flowchart was developed through extensive drift-diffusion simulations and a rigorous review of the literature, with a specific focus on perovskite and organic solar cells. Moreover, the flowchart proposes supplementary experiments that can be conducted to obtain a more precise prediction of the primary performance losses. It therefore serves as an optimal starting point to analyse performance losses of solar cells.