Comprehensive studies were carried out to understand the thickness effects of ZnO thin films for tri-iodide perovskite absorber (TPA) based photovoltaics, including the absorption spectrum, photoluminescence, nanosecond time-resolved photoluminescence (NTRPL), and photo-induced absorption (PIA) of TPA/ZnO/ITO/glass. These were carried out in order to explore the Urbach energy of TPA films and the exciton dissociation at the interface between TPA and ZnO. The results show that the thickness of the ZnO thin film significantly influences the photovoltaic performance in terms of open-circuit voltage V-OC), fill factor (FF), and short-circuit current density (J(SC)). In the case of the thicker ZnO film, the photovoltaics have the better FF and V-oc, as a result of the smaller electron recombination. This means that a thicker ZnO film can block the electron recombination from the Fermi level of the ITO to the valance band of the TPA. On the other hand, the thicker ZnO film results in a higher J(SC) due to the better exciton dissociation at the interface between TPA and ZnO, which means that the electron mobility of the thicker ZnO is higher. Consequently, the photovoltaic performance can be expected to be improved by using a transparent cathode electrode with high conductivity and electron mobility. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.