According to embodiments provided herein, the performance of photovoltaic device can be improved by rapidly heating an absorber layer of a device in open-circuit to a high temperature for a short period of time followed by rapid quenching. The rapid heating may be accomplished by one or more pulses of high intensity electromagnetic energy. The energy may be visible light. The energy may be absorbed primarily in the absorber layer, such that the absorber layer is preferentially heated, promoting chemical reactions of dopant complexes. The dopant chemical reactions disrupt compensating defect complexes that have formed in the device, and regenerate active carriers.