I-Corps: Rapid Photonic Treatment for High-Speed Printing of Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells

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The broader impact and commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to provide a path for integrating photovoltaics into a wide range of new form factors. The project will first explore the commercial potential of integrating high-performance, light-weight flexible solar panels onto freight truck trailers, shading fabrics, and military tents. When the large exterior surfaces of a freight truck trailer are covered by high-efficiency solar panels the technology can significantly improve overall diesel fuel efficiencies. Retrofitting flexible solar panels onto shading fabrics, such as canopies, awnings, and car parking ports can potentially allow for local, potentially off-grid, power sources. The flexible solar panels will also potentially help the military cope with their power needs for operations occur in remote locations. All these applications rely on the new form factors the core technology in this project enables.This I-Corps project is based on core technology that overcomes major obstacles in perovskite solar cells, including their short lifetime, lengthy processing steps, and substantial efficiency drops from large-area fabrication on flexible substrates. Commonly used annealing approaches require prolonged heating at high temperatures to attain desired material properties. Therefore, they are not typically compatible with high-speed printing. The technology developed here accomplishes a rapid layer-specific photonic treatment for the target layer without damaging the underlying flexible substrate and perovskite materials. This innovative technology enables large-scale manufacturing of durable and fully-flexible perovskite solar cells through high-speed printing.