Monitoring Quality of Nanostructured Thin Films in Polymer Solar Cell Manufacturing

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This award supports fundamental research to capture and decipher optical signatures associated with the nanoscale properties of semiconducting polymer thin films in order to enable low-cost manufacturing of high-quality polymer solar cells. The research will achieve this goal by establishing a clear mapping among solar cell efficiency, morphological details of polymer thin films, and corresponding optical signatures. Specifically, the project will first fabricate a collection of benchmark semiconducting polymer thin film samples exhibiting a range of properties relevant to solar cell performance such as variation in thickness, material coverage, and aspect ratio of polymer nanostructures. Then these benchmark samples will be characterized using state-of-the-art off-line methods. Finally the off-line data will be compared and correlated to in-line optical signatures captured in real-time by measuring the light absorption from green and red laser beams intersecting the films.Knowledge gained from this research will enable development of real-time quality monitoring tools in roll-to-roll manufacturing of polymer solar cells. Manufacturing platforms equipped with such in-line monitoring capability can implement closed-loop feedback controls for improved quality consistency leading to higher yield and lower production costs. It is anticipated that the real-time quality assurance principles gleaned from this research can also be applied to manufacturing processes of other polymer semiconductor thin-film devices, such as solid state lighting and flexible electronic circuits. Students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels with diversified backgrounds will directly participate in various aspects of this project. Because the research program may spawn new start-up opportunities, highly motivated college students will be mentored and engaged in the creation of business ventures through participation in clean energy business plan competitions. K-12 students will benefit from the program through vivid classroom demonstrations of advanced manufacturing concepts.