Project Name: Higher Throughput, Lower Cost Processing of Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells by Photonic Curing
Funding Opportunity: Solar Energy Technologies Office Fiscal Year 2018 Funding Program (SETO FY2018)
SETO Research Area: Photovoltaics
Location: Dallas, TX
SETO Award Amount: $200,000
Awardee Cost Share: $70,000
Principal Investigator: Julia Hsu
-- Award and cost share amounts are subject to change pending negotiations --
Perovskite solar cells require a time-consuming, energy-intensive heat-treatment process called thermal annealing that can be costly. This project will examine photonic curing, a process that uses short pulses of light to heat-treat the perovskite films. This process could remove manufacturing bottlenecks and reduce costs while increasing throughput.
APPROACH
The project team will deliver short pulses of light to multilayer perovskite films and then evaluate the film’s quality and stability. They will examine the influence of wavelength, pulse duration, the number of pulses, and energy density to determine the viability of this heat treatment. The team will use X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy to look at the phase stability and microstructure. The team will measure film properties such as thickness and perovskite crystal grain size, then adjust processing parameters to achieve the highest level of performance.
INNOVATION
Alternative manufacturing approaches that reduce time and production costs can reduce the cost of electricity. A rapid photonic curing process could potentially increase cell throughput and maintain device performance, contributing to the evolution of thin-film PV technology.