Pathways toward high-performance perovskite solar cells: review of recent advances in organo-metal halide perovskites for photovoltaic applications

Organo-metal halide perovskite-based solar cells have been the focus of intense research over the past five years, and power conversion efficiencies have rapidly been improved from 3.8 to >21%. This article reviews major advances in perovskite solar cells that have contributed to the recent efficiency enhancements, including the evolution of device architecture, the development of material deposition processes, and the advanced device engineering techniques aiming to improve control over morphology, crystallinity, composition, and the interface properties of the perovskite thin films. The challenges and future directions for perovskite solar cell research and development are also discussed. (C) 2016 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)