Luminescence Imaging Characterization of Perovskite Solar Cells: A Note on the Analysis and Reporting the Results

In this essay, the authors use two properly encapsulated high-efficiency mesoscopic perovskite solar cells (PSCs), which use a state-of-the-art perovskite composition (HC(NH2)(2)PbI3) 0.85(CH3NH3PbBr3) 0.15 with excess PbI2 as the active layer, to demonstrate the potential effect of dynamical electroluminescence responses on the analysis and interpretation of PSCs electrical characteristic. The essay does not aim to determine how to overcome this issue, nor to investigate its physical/chemical origin, although tentative propositions are made; but rather, to warn researchers in the field about the interpretation and reporting the results obtained from luminescence imaging measurements and the effect of image collection timing on the results. This is a critical message since the authors predict that luminescence imaging techniques will soon become one of the key tools for PSCs characterization, both for long-term stability assessment and fabrication process optimization.