Flash Infrared Annealing for Perovskite Solar Cell Processing

Organic-inorganic perovskites have an impressive potential for the design of next generation solar cells and are currently considered for upscaling and commercialization. Currently, perovskite solar cells rely on spin-coating which is neither practical for large areas nor environmentally friendly. Indeed, one of the conventional and most effective lab-scale methods to induce perovskite crystallization, the antisolvent method, requires an amount of toxic solvent that is difficult to apply on larger surfaces. To solve this problem, an antisolvent-free and rapid thermal annealing process called flash infrared annealing (FIRA) can be used to produce highly crystalline perovskite films. The FIRA oven is composed of an array of near-infrared halogen lamps with an illumination power of 3,000 kW/m². A hollow aluminum body enables an effective water-cooling system. The FIRA method allows the synthesis of perovskite films in less than 2 s, achieving efficiencies >20%. FIRA has a unique potential for the industry because it can be adapted to continuous processing, is antisolvent-free, and does not require lengthy, hour-long annealing steps.