Rapid advancements within photovoltaics realm necessitates swift fabrication of the modules using cheap materials through cost effective manufacturing processes to achieve short cost payback time. Photovoltaics manufacturing includes chemical processing of the materials followed by thermal annealing. Yet, long-term annealing of the materials using high temperature furnaces have remained the prevalent post-processing approach in industry which necessitates alternative methods to achieve high performance modules through rapid and economical processes. Intense pulse light (IPL) has been successfully applied as a promising rapid post-process annealing for various thin film photovoltaics, particularly to process the organic-inorganic perovskite solar cell (PSC) layers. In this paper, several results pertinent to the application of IPL on perovskite and SnO2 electron transport thin films are presented and the role of IPL on rapid thermal annealing (RTA) is explained. We show that swift fabrication of PSCs through IPL can result in efficiencies exceeding 16% when the Perovskite film is annealed with aid of CH2I2 alkyl halide additive in the ambient with 60% relative humidity. In addition, the synergy of IPL-alkyl halide interaction for other perovskite chemistries is introduced. We show that achieving to PSCs exceeding 12% efficiency was possible when the perovskite and SnO2 ETL was annealed sequentially through IPL. 
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                            Automated Fabrication of Perovskite Photovoltaics Using Inkjet Printing and Intense Pulse Light Annealing
                        
                    
    
            Rapid chemistry and processing development has increased the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) in an unprecedented manner, yet postdeposition annealing impedes high‐throughput manufacturing. Herein, SnO2and carbon charge transport films are fabricated entirely through an integrated robotic setup utilizing inkjet printing and intense pulse light (IPL) as a high‐speed postprocess annealing method; hence, process optimization is crucial for successful fabrication of PSCs. This work investigates the role of inkjet deposition parameters as well as IPL annealing on the morphology and uniformity of films with aid of spectroscopy and spectrophotometry. Initially PSCs exceeding 13% efficiency are developed by only fabricating the SnO2film through the robotic setup, but spin coating all other films followed by IPL annealing to demonstrate successful fabrication of SnO2layer. Finally, SnO2and carbon back contact films are entirely fabricated through the integrated robotic setup in a high humid ambient environment (>60%), resulting in PSCs exceeding 5% efficiency. Unlike successful direct annealing of SnO2wet films, IPL annealing of wet carbon severely damaged the phase and morphology necessitating rapid solvent removal before IPL annealing. This work establishes pioneering steps towards utilizing IPL in an entirely automated fabrication line, allowing for scalable fabrication of PSCs through non‐roll‐to‐roll. 
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                            - Award ID(s):
- 1828355
- PAR ID:
- 10286852
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Energy Technology
- Volume:
- 9
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 2194-4288
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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