Further, the photovoltaic performance of the films was studied by constructing p–i–n PSCs (Fig.
5A). The cross-sectional SEM image of the target device shows a typical planar structure, where the perovskite layer is composed of vertically thorough and tightly arranged crystals (Fig.
5B). The energy levels of the 2 films were characterized by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (Figs. S11 and S12) together with bandgaps obtained from Tauc plots, and the resultant energy level diagram of the PSC device is depicted in Fig.
5C. It is observed that the target film shows an upshifted valence band maximum from −5.81 to −5.68 eV and an upshifted conduction band minimum from −4.03 to −3.88 eV, both of which match more with the energy levels of the respective charge transport layers, suggesting a better charge extraction in the target device. Note that the Kelvin probe force microscopy measurement of the target film shows an increased surface potential compared to that of the control one (Fig. S13), which agrees with the upshifted energy levels. The PCE distributions of 10 individual PSCs were collected (Fig. S14), and the target devices exhibited improved photovoltaic parameters with a statistical PCE of 19.77% ± 0.23% compared to the control ones with 18.58% ± 0.26% (Fig.
5D). Notably, the target device exhibits a champion PCE of 20.14% with a
VOC of 1.285 V, a
JSC of 18.36 mA cm
−2, and an FF of 85.39%, which are superior to those of the control device with a PCE of 18.99%, a
VOC of 1.25 V, a
JSC of 17.93 mA cm
−2, and an FF of 84.65%, and the hysteresis index of target device was also significantly reduced from 26% to 4.5% (Fig.
5E and Table S3). To the best of our knowledge, a PCE of 20.14% is the highest value for formamidinium (FA)/Cs-based 1.80-eV PSCs so far (Table S4 and Fig. S15). By measuring the light intensity-dependent
VOC (Fig.
5F), the FF loss mechanism was analyzed to gain a deeper understanding of the origin of the FF improvement. There are 2 FF loss pathways for real PSCs to be unable to reach the S-Q limit FF, including nonradiative loss and charge transport loss. Furthermore, considering the condition without charge transport loss, the maximum FF (FF
max) in this case can be estimated [
56], which is calculated to be 85.70% and 86.35% for the control and target PSCs, respectively (see the Supplementary Materials for calculation details). By comparing FF
max with the FF we measured in the devices (Fig.
5G), it is found that both the trap-assisted nonradiative loss and the charge transport loss are suppressed in the target device, which is assigned to the reduced defect density, reduced lateral GBs, enhanced orientation, released strains, and more matched energy levels in the target device. Notably, an FF value of 85.39% is also the record-high value so far for FA/Cs-based 1.80-eV PSCs (Table S3 and Fig.
5H). External quantum efficiency (EQE) measurement demonstrates that the target device has a higher photoelectric conversion response in the range from 400 to 670 nm (Fig.
5I), and the integrated
JSC values are 16.72 and 17.83 mA cm
−2, respectively, which are both in agreement with the
JSC values obtained from the
J–
V curves. Moreover, light-dependent
JSC variation shows that the target device presents a reduced
α value from 1.13 to 1.02 (Fig.
5J), demonstrating much suppressed bimolecular recombination in the target device. In addition, the transient photovoltage decay tracking under open-circuit conditions of the target device shows an increased decay time from 0.12 to 0.39 ms (Fig.
5K), while the transient photocurrent decay tracking under short-circuit conditions of the target device shows a decreased decay time from 0.4 to 0.3 μs (Fig.
5L), and these results can be also attributed to the less nonradiative recombination in the device. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was further carried out to verify the efficient charge transport in the device, and the Nyquist plots of the target device shows an increased charge recombination resistance (
Rct) from 135,760 to 224,760 Ω compared to that of the control one (Fig.
5M), again demonstrating suppressed nonradiative recombination. Photocurrent tracking under the maximum power point was measured under AM1.5 illumination conditions, and the target device showed stabilized power output at 1.13 V (Fig.
5N). The illumination stability of the unencapsulated devices was tested under light soaking conditions, and the time for the target device to maintain 80% of its initial PCE is much prolonged compared to that of the control one (Fig.
5O). Under storage conditions, the target device retains ~80% of its original PCE after storage in N
2 for 2,000 h, while the PCE of the control device dropped to less than 80% of its initial value after only 300 h (Fig.
5P). In addition, the target devices also show enhanced thermal (heating at 60 °C) and air stability (stored under 30 °C room temperature and 70% relative humidity) compared to the control ones (Fig. S16).