What are the challenges of perovskite technology facing？
With the research and development of new materials and technologies, lithium battery replacement lead acid has also become the current trend.
Meanwhile, perovskite technology is also a promising research area in photovoltaics due to its high theoretical efficiency.
However, some current challenges must be addressed before perovskite technology can achieve commercial viability. This article will discuss the main challenges and potential solutions for perovskite technology.
Large-scale preparation
One of the major challenges is the large-scale preparation of perovskites, which is crucial for the commercial viability of perovskite technology.
The perovskite process includes three steps: thin film preparation, laser etching, and packaging. The uniform preparation of the perovskite layer is currently the main process difficulty.
Different approaches such as slot coating and evaporation equipment have been tried, but no standard process has been established. The accuracy of laser equipment also needs to be improved to reduce the dead zone area.
The following is a flow chart for the preparation of perovskite batteries:
Moreover, the process of preparing perovskites on a large scale is not only a technical challenge but also raises environmental concerns.
At present, there are problems of water-soluble lead pollution in the process of industrialization of perovskite batteries, and the lack of effective recycling system may pose a threat to the environment.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop sustainable and environmentally friendly large-scale preparation of perovskite technology.
Thin film preparation
The different structural principle of perovskite cells from silicon-based cells is another challenge to overcome. Thus, new process flow and production line equipment need to be designed to adapt to the unique properties of perovskite cells.
The primary difficulty of perovskite technology is to prepare large-area, high-performance, high-stability, uniform, and high-quality thin films.
There are several thin film deposition processes, but no single dominant path has been identified. Different manufacturers have different experimental space in terms of material and battery structure selection.
In terms of coating equipment, the core layer “perovskite layer” of perovskite batteries mainly includes two types of coating methods: solution method (wet method preparation) and gas phase method (dry method preparation), which can be used alone or in combination.
Recently, different thin film preparation methods are still in the state of coexistence and development of two technologies.
Coating equipment is mainly used to make perovskite light-absorbing layer, and other thin film layers can also be applied according to material selection.
Among them, slit coating is a precise coating technology, and its working principle is that the coating liquid is extruded and sprayed along the gap of the coating mold under a certain pressure and a certain flow rate, and then transferred to the substrate.
Laser etching
The laser etching process is another challenge for perovskite technology. The role of the laser etching machine in the perovskite solar cell is to laser scribe P1, P2, and P3 to block the conduction, thereby forming a separate module.
It is generally understood that P1 is FTO conductive glass, and P2 is ITO or For the perovskite layer, P3 is a gold-plated or silver-plated material, and some project teams use carbon powder materials.
Through multi-pass laser etching, the circuit structure in the perovskite battery is constructed, and multiple perovskite batteries are connected in series to form a module.
Laser etching to build a circuit of series perovskite components:
In order to improve the efficiency and precision of laser etching, some manufacturers are developing new laser systems that can better control the etching process.
For example, some of the top 10 perovskite solar cell manufacturers in China have developed small laser automation equipment to improve the efficiency of laser etching and reduce the time and cost of producing perovskite solar cells.
Package
Package isolates the battery from the external environment, which is crucial for the stability of perovskite photovoltaic devices, battery safety, environmental protection and service life.
At present, there are two common perovskite solar cell packaging technologies:
The first packaging technique uses evaporated metal injectors and soldered metal ribbons to conduct the current from the cell to the outside, and the edges of the metal ribbons are sealed, with the device in the center of the closed cavity.
The second packaging technology is to use transparent ITO electrodes to separate the perovskite from the metal electrodes to ensure a certain lateral gap between the electrodes and PSCs.
One side of the package is directly the ITO electrodes, which can better seal the entire device. Both of these are “edge-banding” packaging technologies.
In the future, the development of new packaging technologies is inevitable. Because better packaging techniques can provide protection from moisture and other environmental factors, improving the overall efficiency and reliability of perovskite solar cells.
Summary
Perovskite technology has enormous potential. However, to make it a viable option for widespread adoption, technical challenges related to large-scale fabrication, uniform thin-film fabrication, laser lithography, and packaging need to be addressed.
It is worth noting that these challenges are not independent of each other, some are interrelated.
For example, the uniform preparation of perovskite layers is related to the development of coating equipment, while the design of new process flow and production line equipment is related to the uniform preparation of perovskite layers.
Researchers and manufacturers must work together to address these challenges through innovation and experimentation to develop new energy storage solutions.
