Microreactor for High-Yield Solution Deposition of Thin Films and Nanowires

该项目的研究目标是研究一种新的反应器设计，称为连续流微反应器，用于从水基溶液中沉积材料。本设计将反应器的临界尺寸从传统溶液反应器的厘米级降低到亚毫米级，以提高反应物利用率，减少浪费。该微反应器将用于合成对太阳能电池工业至关重要的半导体、氧化物薄膜和纳米线阵列。通过这个项目发展起来的理解有可能降低当前太阳能电池的成本，并使下一代太阳能电池的设计成为可能。该微反应器将用于研究反应机制，并确定限制沉积速率的物理过程。此外，它将有助于发现具有最佳功能特性的光伏和光电子器件新材料。连续流微反应器将提高工艺产量，并减少高达十倍的浪费，这将大大降低制造成本，并可能对半导体加工行业产生变革性影响。随着薄膜光伏市场的持续增长，低成本的“绿色”沉积方法将变得越来越重要，微反应器在产量、废物减少和成本方面的优势将非常有价值。除了对产业产生影响外，该项目还将产生一名博士生和几名本科生的研究教育和培训。高中学生和教师也将通过暑期研究体验参与其中。

The research objective of this project is to investigate a new reactor design, called a continuous flow microreactor, to deposit materials from water-based solutions. This design reduces the critical dimension of the reactor from the centimeter-scale used in conventional solution reactors to sub-millimeter scale in order to improve reactant utilization and reduce waste. The microreactor will be used to synthesize semiconductor and oxide thin films and nanowire arrays that are important to the solar cell industry. The understanding developed through this project has potential both to reduce the cost of current solar cells and to enable next-generation solar cell designs. The microreactor will be used to investigate reaction mechanisms and to identify the physical processes that limit deposition rates. Additionally, it will enable discovery of new materials with optimal functional properties for photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices.The continuous flow microreactor will improve process yields and reduce waste by up to a factor of ten, which will reduce manufacturing costs significantly and could have transformative impact on the semiconductor processing industry. As the thin film photovoltaics market continues to grow, low-cost "green" deposition methods will become increasingly important, and the advantages in yield, waste reduction, and cost offered by the microreactor will be extremely valuable. In addition to its industrial impact, this project will also result in the research education and training of a PhD student and several undergraduate students. High school students and teachers will also participate through summer research experiences.