Laser Processing Methods for Perovskite Solar Cells and Modules

Abstract

The perovskite photovoltaic technology is now transitioning from basic research to the pre‐industrialization phase. In order to achieve reliable and high‐performance commercial perovskite solar modules, high throughput manufacturing technologies must now be adapted to the specific constraints and requirements imposed by the perovskite solar cells unique new chemistries, film deposition methodologies, and encapsulation requirements. Laser technologies will play an important role in the industrialization of these devices, both to achieve high active surface area modules and for the deposition and/or treatment of the critical layers. Industrial lasers will be essential to achieve active areas greater than 95% of the total area to retain the benefits of the very high performances reported for <1 cm2 laboratory cells. The speed of laser processing for the preparation of interconnects is unrivalled by comparison to other structuring methods. Recent reports of the use of lasers in upscaling perovskite solar cells are presented and analyzed here.

Reducing Losses in Perovskite Large Area Solar Technology: Laser Design Optimization for Highly Efficient Modules and Minipanels

“…For this configuration, the output voltage is ideally the sum of the subcells voltages, while the current is limited by the current of the lowest performing subcell; for this purpose, a uniform and homogeneous deposition by taking care of the interconnection parameters is essential for module's performances. [ 4 ] To realize a complete interconnection set, the so‐called P1–P2–P3 process is used, [ 5 ] whereas P1 isolate the substrate connections between adjacent cell while P2 and P3 isolate the active part and the top electrode of adjacent cells, respectively (see Section S1 of the Supporting Information for details).…”

Recent developments in perovskite-based precursor inks for scalable architectures of perovskite solar cell technology

“…162,173,201,204 This is understandable, since the post-processing methods such as selective laser scribing, followed by large-area coatings of active layers including the perovskite-based light absorbing layer by these schemes have been proposed to facilitate the production of established serially connected modules. [205][206][207] In contrast, other potential scalable methods such as dropon-demand inkjet printing 136,[208][209][210] have yet to be proven as a reliable process step for large perovskite layer deposition in order to overcome advanced key challenges related to creating exibility in pattern designs of any choice through high precision and resolution. 15,17,211 These challenges call for the development of room temperature-based chemically stable precursor inks that can pass through without clotting the micronozzles of the inkjet cartridges, in order to deliver precise microlitre-sized drop volumes over the desired surfaces.…”

“…162,173,201,204 This is understandable, since the post-processing methods such as selective laser scribing, followed by large-area coatings of active layers including the perovskite-based light absorbing layer by these schemes have been proposed to facilitate the production of established serially connected modules. 205–207…”

Van der Waals Force-Assisted Heat-Transfer Engineering for Overcoming Limited Efficiency of Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells

“…Additionally, we enlarged the scale of the processes to fabricate large-area f-PSMs. We first dealt with the uniformity of large-area films because laser processes for fabricating f-PSMs could affect the performance of devices critically and could not be applied to nonflat control samples uniformly . The uniformity of large-area films by upscaled vdWS/OLA/vacuum and control/OLA/vacuum processes was evaluated by dividing a sample with a size of 10 × 10 cm 2 into 25 small 2 × 2 cm 2 devices (4 cells per device) (Figure S23a).…”

“…We first dealt with the uniformity of large-area films because laser processes for fabricating f-PSMs could affect the performance of devices critically and could not be applied to nonflat control samples uniformly. 62 The uniformity of large-area films by upscaled vdWS/OLA/vacuum and control/OLA/vacuum processes was evaluated by dividing a sample with a size of 10 × 10 cm 2 into 25 small 2 × 2 cm 2 devices (4 cells per device) (Figure S23a). The 100 cells fabricated by the upscaled vdWS/OLA/vacuum process exhibited a highly consistent performance with an average PCE of 20.73% and a standard deviation of 0.51%.…”