Photonic Lift-off Process to Fabricate Ultrathin Flexible Solar Cells

Liu, Wen; Turkani, Vikram S.; Akhavan, Vahid A.; Korgel, Brian A.

doi:10.1021/acsami.1c12382

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 34 publications

(58 reference statements)

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“…This mismatch is used to facilitate a lift-off process, where the active material(s) are synthesised on a rigid substrate and then removed using physical, chemical or thermal methods. (Liu et al, 2021). For thermal lift-off processes the substrate is selected to have a different thermal expansion coefficient.…”

Section: Matched Lattice Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling Interfaces in Thin-Film Photovoltaic Devices

et al. 2022

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Developing effective device architectures for energy technologies—such as solar cells, rechargeable batteries or fuel cells—does not only depend on the performance of a single material, but on the performance of multiple materials working together. A key part of this is understanding the behaviour at the interfaces between these materials. In the context of a solar cell, efficient charge transport across the interface is a pre-requisite for devices with high conversion efficiencies. There are several methods that can be used to simulate interfaces, each with an in-built set of approximations, limitations and length-scales. These methods range from those that consider only composition (e.g. data-driven approaches) to continuum device models (e.g. drift-diffusion models using the Poisson equation) and ab-initio atomistic models (developed using e.g. density functional theory). Here we present an introduction to interface models at various levels of theory, highlighting the capabilities and limitations of each. In addition, we discuss several of the various physical and chemical processes at a heterojunction interface, highlighting the complex nature of the problem and the challenges it presents for theory and simulation.

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Section: Matched Lattice Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling Interfaces in Thin-Film Photovoltaic Devices

et al. 2022

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“…[46][47][48][49] A PLO method involves high-intensity light absorbance in a single layer triggering a clean separation from the substrate while a faster light scan can yield a higher throughput as compared to a high-cost laser lift-off technique. [50,51] One of the important findings of this research is to invoke a reliable method to lift-off absorber layer along with all the front layers, namely cadmium sulfide (CdS), zinc oxide (ZnO), and indium tin oxide (ITO), thus not only exposing FG side for direct compositional analysis but also devising a method to transfer the solar cell structure from rigid glass substrate to a flexible substrate, thereby leading a promising pathway for system integrated photovoltaic applications (SIPV) as part of future research. In this research, a rapid, scalable, and reliable photothermal technique was developed by using a very short pulse of broadband light to PLO solar cells from growth substrates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In‐Depth Compositional Analysis of the Carbon‐Rich Fine‐Grain Layer in Solution‐Processed CZTSSe Films Accessed by a Photonic Lift‐Off Process

Javed,

Jones,

Campbell

et al. 2023

Adv Materials Inter

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The existence of a fine‐grain (FG) sub‐layer between the top large‐grain (LG) layer and the back contact is widely observed in kesterite absorbers prepared with organic solvents. In this paper, the distinguishing features of the lifted‐off carbon‐rich FG layer are investigated through direct analysis with a series of characterization techniques, including X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflectance, X‐ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. To access the FG layer for direct probing, a scalable and repeatable photonic lift‐off method is developed for carrying out the separation of the kesterite absorber layer from the Mo‐coated glass substrate. A very high light intensity of 4 kW cm−2 for a short interval of 1 ms is optimized by COMSOL simulations, and successful implementation is demonstrated. The XPS analysis has revealed significant carbon content at the exposed FG surface, which explains the hindrance of grain growth due to carbon abundance. The variations in cations and anions concentrations from FG layer leading into LG region are explored through argon ions (Ar+) assisted XPS depth profiling. The observed significant differences between the composition of FG and LG regions are speculated to negatively impact the performance of solar cells.

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“…To exfoliate the 3D epitaxial membrane from the 3D substrate (so-called 3D/3D exfoliation), methods including laser-induced liftoff − and substrate removal (wet etching , and dry etching , ) have been used. However, these techniques suffer from either high cost, complexity, or low efficiency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transferable Ga₂O₃ Membrane for Vertical and Flexible Electronics via One-Step Exfoliation

Krishna

Liao

et al. 2022

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Transferable Ga2O3 thin film membrane is desirable for vertical and flexible solar-blind photonics and high-power electronics applications. However, Ga2O3 epitaxially grown on rigid substrates such as sapphire, Si, and SiC hinders its exfoliation due to the strong covalent bond between Ga2O3 and substrates, determining its lateral device configuration and also hardly reaching the ever-increasing demand for wearable and foldable applications. Mica substrate, which has an atomic-level flat surface and high-temperature tolerance, could be a good candidate for the van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy of crystalline Ga2O3 membrane. Beyond that, benefiting from the weak vdW bond between Ga2O3 and mica substrate, in this work, the Ga2O3 membrane is exfoliated and transferred to arbitrary flexible and adhesive tape, allowing for the vertical and flexible electronic configuration. This straightforward exfoliation method is verified to be consistent and reproducible by the transfer and characterization of thick (∼380 nm)/thin (∼95 nm) κ-phase Ga2O3 and conductive n-type β-Ga2O3. Vertical photodetectors are fabricated based on the exfoliated Ga2O3 membrane, denoting the peak response at ∼250 nm. Through the integration of Ti/Au Ohmic contact and Ni/Ag Schottky contact electrode, the vertical photodetector exhibits self-powered photodetection behavior with a responsivity of 17 mA/W under zero bias. The vdW-bond-assisted exfoliation of the Ga2O3 membrane demonstrated here could provide enormous opportunities in the pursuit of vertical and flexible Ga2O3 electronics.

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Photonic Lift-off Process to Fabricate Ultrathin Flexible Solar Cells

Cited by 7 publications

References 34 publications

Modelling Interfaces in Thin-Film Photovoltaic Devices

Modelling Interfaces in Thin-Film Photovoltaic Devices

In‐Depth Compositional Analysis of the Carbon‐Rich Fine‐Grain Layer in Solution‐Processed CZTSSe Films Accessed by a Photonic Lift‐Off Process

Transferable Ga₂O₃ Membrane for Vertical and Flexible Electronics via One-Step Exfoliation

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Photonic Lift-off Process to Fabricate Ultrathin Flexible Solar Cells

Cited by 7 publications

References 34 publications

Modelling Interfaces in Thin-Film Photovoltaic Devices

Modelling Interfaces in Thin-Film Photovoltaic Devices

In‐Depth Compositional Analysis of the Carbon‐Rich Fine‐Grain Layer in Solution‐Processed CZTSSe Films Accessed by a Photonic Lift‐Off Process

Transferable Ga2O3 Membrane for Vertical and Flexible Electronics via One-Step Exfoliation

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Product

Resources

About

Transferable Ga₂O₃ Membrane for Vertical and Flexible Electronics via One-Step Exfoliation