Development of highly stable all-printable perovskite solar cells

This project relates to the development of single junction perovskite solar cells and modules fabricated using industrially compatible and scalable printing methods.
The purpose of the work is to overcome some of the existing barriers to the large-scale adoption and industrialisation of perovskite solar cells including the fabrication cost, complexity and capital outlay (factory cost). The student will be working on a device stack which consists of the sequential deposition of three layers, titanium dioxide, zirconium oxide and carbon followed by the infiltration of the absorber layer consisting of a methylammonium lead halide perovskite material. Perovskite solar cells are a new and exciting type of solar cell with the potential of delivering higher performance than existing silicon solar cells but with a number of added benefits including lower materials and fabrication costs.
The student will be involved in a number of different research strands in order to deliver on this project. The student will identify and overcome the engineering challenges that exist when new more stable perovskite absorber materials are infiltrated into the device stack, in particular understanding the composition of the material and how any chemical alterations can be undertaken in order to allow for simpler solution processing and infiltration. Secondly the student will work to reduce the complexity of the device fabrication process developing transferable manufacturing techniques. This is particular pertinent as it will support the SUNRISE EPSRC funded research programme which is intended to link UK and Indian Universities in equitable partnerships to develop low-cost photovoltaic technologies. The Research Area for this project is Solar Technology