Repeatable Perovskite Thin Films enabled by Fully Automated Spin-Coating

Daniel O. Baumann^a, Felix Laufer^a^,^b, Julie Roger^a, Roja Singh^a^,^b, Mohammad Ghholipoor^a, Ulrich W. Paetzold^a^,^b

^aInstitute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany.

^bLight Technology Institute (LTI) at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Engesserstr. 13, 76131, Germany

Proceedings of MATSUS Fall 2024 Conference (MATSUSFall24)

#AMADISTA - Accelerated Materials Discovery Through Automation and Machine Learning

Lausanne, Switzerland, 2024 November 12th - 15th

Organizers: Philippe Schwaller, Tobias Stubhan and Christian Wolff

Oral, Daniel O. Baumann, presentation 006
Publication date: 28th August 2024

Perovskite solar cells have seen significant advancements in power conversion efficiency (PCE) in recent years, reaching record PCEs above 26 %. However, achieving consistent performance across different laboratories remains a challenge due to the variability inherent in manual processing methods[1,2]. Our study addresses this challenge by demonstrating the potential of a fully automated spin-coating robot for fabricating perovskite thin films. The commercial spin-coating robot autonomously performs sample positioning, pipetting, timed anti-solvent dispensing, and annealing. Compared to manual methods, this automated system provides excellent repeatability and improved homogeneity of perovskite thin films. Transferring an established perovskite composition to this automated fabrication process enabled champion PCEs as high as 19.9 %, comparable to manually processed perovskite solar cells. Through a series of nine batches produced over two months, we evaluated the device performance and the crystallinity and optoelectronic properties of fully automated processed perovskite absorbers. Consistent peak positions and ratios in X-ray diffraction analysis confirm the repeatability of the composition and crystallographic structure. Minimal variation in photoluminescence emission peak wavelengths and implied open circuit voltage indicate the consistency of optoelectronic characteristics. Our work provides a foundation for automated systems supporting research in perovskite solar cells. It aims to accelerate developing and deploying high-performance, high-throughput, and highly repeatable fabrication processes.

The corresponding paper is submitted and under review.
D.O. Baumann, F. Laufer, J. Roger, R. Singh, M. Gholipoor, U.W. Paetzold, submitted (May 2024)

References:

[1] Jacobsson, T.J., Hultqvist, A., García-Fernández, A. et al. An open-access database and analysis tool for perovskite solar cells based on the FAIR data principles. Nat Energy 7, 107–115 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-021-00941-3

[2] Saliba, M.; Correa-Baena, J.-P.; Wolff, C. M.; Stolterfoht, M.; Phung, N.; Albrecht, S.; Neher, D.; Abate, A. How to Make over 20% Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells in Regular (n–i–p) and Inverted (p–i–n) Architectures. Chemistry of Materials 2018, 30, 4193–4201

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