I-Corps: Perovskite solar photovoltaics and continuous flash sublimation manufacturing

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发基于金属卤化物钙钛矿半导体的太阳能设备。对于钙钛矿型太阳能组件，应用包括运输(例如无人机)、室内设备(例如传感器)或高空和空间应用，其中硅设备太昂贵、太重或效率不够高。最近的估计表明，到2024年，室内光伏市场每年可能达到10亿美元。如今，硅在成本上不具竞争力(50-100美元/平方米)，在室内也达不到30%的效率，这是商业成功的必要条件。卫星和高空无人机的应用还处于萌芽阶段，而且增长迅速。在无人机技术方面，薄膜钙钛矿型光伏比晶硅光伏具有天然优势。钙钛矿型太阳能电池已经显示出高的单位重量功率性能(23kW/kg)，这是这些应用的关键指标。连续闪光升华是高度可调和可控的，使材料能够进行优化，以实现制造方法。这个i-Corps项目基于开发一种新的制造方法-连续闪光升华(CFS)-用于大规模生产钙钛矿型光电子器件。由于使用了溶剂，将传统的实验室规模的钙钛矿溶液处理方法转化为大规模生产是具有挑战性的。CFS是一种基于蒸汽的工艺，不使用溶剂。此外，CFS是安全、快速、简单、廉价和可扩展的，这将使其能够很容易地整合到现有的高通量商业生产线中。CFS制造可能会显著降低与生产用于太阳能生产以及用于固态照明、显示技术和医疗传感器的X射线检测的钙钛矿型半导体相关的集成障碍。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of solar devices based on metal-halide perovskite semiconductors. For perovskite solar modules, applications include transport (e.g., drones), indoor devices (e.g., sensors), or high-altitude and space applications where silicon devices are too expensive, heavy, or not efficient enough. Recent estimates indicate the market for indoor photovoltarics could reach $1B annually by 2024. Silicon is not cost competitive today ($50-100/m2) and cannot reach 30% efficiency indoors, a requirement for commercial success. Satellite and high-altitude drone applications are nascent and rapidly growing. Thin film perovskite photovoltaics have a natural advantage over crystalline silicon photovoltaics in drone technologies. Perovskite solar cells have demonstrated high power-per-weight performance (23 kW/kg), a key metric for these applications. Continuous flash sublimation is highly tunable and controllable, enabling the materials to be optimized to enable manufacturing methods.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a new manufacturing method – continuous flash sublimation (CFS) – for the mass-scale production of perovskite-based optoelectronic devices. Translating conventional lab-scale perovskite solution-processing methods to large-scale manufacturing is challenging due to the use of solvents. CFS is a vapor-based process that does not use solvents. In addition, CFS is safe, fast, simple, inexpensive, and scalable, which will allow it to be readily incorporated into existing high-throughput commercial manufacturing lines. CFS manufacturing may significantly lower the integration barrier associated with the production of perovskite semiconductors for solar power production, as well as for solid state lighting, display technology, and X-ray detection for medical sensors.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.