• Gao, Mei
• Angmo, Dechan
• Deluca, Giovanni
• Udo, Bath

Abstract

The record efficiency of laboratory-scale perovskite solar cells has soared to 24%, bringing it on par with inorganic counterparts [1]. The challenge now is to develop an industry-compatible process for perovskite solar cell production that delivers dramatic cost and/or application benefits compared to existing products. A roll-to-roll manufacturing scheme with printing and coating deposition methods on flexible substrates under ambient environment conditions represents the ultimate low-cost and high-throughput production scheme. Perovskite absorber materials are exceptionally well-suited for such a processing scheme owing to their ease of incorporation into solution-based inks and low-temperature annealing requirements. Our progress on upscaling fabrication of planar p-i-n perovskite solar cells will be described in this presentation, including efficiency, stability, and reproducibility results, the latter being a key indicator for upscaling readiness of a given fabrication process. Firstly, a systematic optimization and evaluation of the device materials and structure was carried out using laboratory-scale cells fabricated by spin-coating on glass substrates using the anti-solvent method [2-3], with devices evaluated for efficiency, reproducibility, and stability. Secondly, a bench-top slot-die coater was employed to evaluate and optimize the perovskite absorber material deposition through a facile and reliable hot-deposition process [4]. The slot-die coating hot-deposition method was found to generate completely different perovskite morphology compared with the anti-solvent method, and devices were extensively characterized to unveil how these morphology differences affect opto-electronic properties. The processes developed in this work were then transferred to roll-to-roll coating on flexible substrates where all layers, except the electrodes, were slot-die coated. Scalability and process reliability were evaluated by utilising a flexible PET/ITO substrate patterned to give solar cells of three different areas (0.1 cm2, 1 cm2, 10 cm2) which are processed in-line during a single processing run. This enabled a comparison to be made between the roll-to-roll processed cells and the laboratory-scale benchmark devices, while also enabling evaluation of process reliability for further upscaling.References: [1] Best Research-Cell Efficiencies (NREL, accessed 25 July, 2019); https://www.nrel.gov/pv/assets/pdfs/best-research-cell-efficiencies.[2] Xiao, M., Huang, F., Huang, W., Dkhissi, Y., Zhu, Y., Etheridge, J., Gray-Weale, A., Bach, U., Cheng, Y., Spiccia, L. 2014, Angew. Chemie - Int. Ed., 126, p10056-59. [3] Jeon, N. J., Noh, J. H., Kim, Y. C., Yang, W. S.,Ryu, S., Seok, S. Il.,2014, Nat. Mater., 13, p897-903. [4] Vak, D., Hwang, K.,Faulks, A.,Jung, Y‐S., Clark, N.,Kim, D-Y., Wilson, G. J., Watkin, S. E., 2015, Advanced Energy Materials, 5.4, p1401539-46.

Topics

• Deposition
• perovskite
• impedance spectroscopy
• glass
• glass
• annealing