STTR Phase I: Holistically Designed Perovskite Based Solar Cells.

The broader/commercial impacts of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project are in the area of solar cells, and specifically, Perovskite-based solar cells (PSC). The PSC are of great interest to capture sunlight, and convert it into electricity more efficiently and cheaply than traditional solar panels. They are lightweight, flexible, and have the potential to make solar power more affordable and accessible. The PSCa can be manufactured using methods that are similar to a newspaper printing press, and thus are orders of magnitude (more than 10 X) less expensive to produce, than conventional silicon solar cells. The specific PSC technology to be developed in this project would work well on its own as well as it can be combined with other solar cell materials, like silicon, to produce highly efficient solar cells. The developed PSC devices will be semi-transparent in nature, could be made to fit a wide variety of module sizes and form factors – including being flexible. The proposed devices will find a wide array of markets ranging from niche portable and transportation applications, to large area utility scale deployments. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project seeks to develop and scale-up novel, Wide Bandgap ≥1.7eV, Perovskite-based solar cells (PSC). To gain the maximum benefit from these devices a number of steps and issues need to be overcome. First, the devices will be scaled up from <0.1 sq-cm, to 1 sq-cm while maintaining high, >20%, power conversion efficiency. Secondly, repeatable processes will be developed with stabilized constituent chemicals. Thirdly, formulations will be developed that would be amenable to large-scale fabrication processes. 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.