How to Fabricate Perovskite Solar Cells

Fabricating Perovskite Solar Cells Demonstration

Instructions for Fabricating SNO2/Perovskite/Spiro-OMeTAD Solar Devices:

Substrate Preparation:

Gently rub the substrate surface with a gloved hand and Hellmanex to remove contamination.
Thoroughly rinse the substrate.
Ensure complete removal of Hellmanex from the substrate.
Wash the substrate, store in a mixture of deionized water and Hellmanex to prevent strange drying patterns.
Sonicate the substrates in the solution.
Thoroughly rinse with hot deionized water.
Dunk-rinse or briefly sonicate in warm deionized water.
Clean substrates in Acetone or IPA, or both for extreme uniformity.
Sonicate for at least 10 minutes.
Optionally, clean substrates in advance and store in IPA until required.
Before use, dry with nitrogen gas and place in a UV Ozone Cleaner for at least 15 minutes.

SNO2 Layer Preparation:

Prepare a 3wt% suspension of SNO2 nanoparticles in distilled water.
Filter the solution before use to reduce defects in the film.
Blow substrates with N2 before spinning each layer.
Place 50μL of SNO2 on the substrate and spin at 3000 RPM for 30 seconds.
Use a cotton swab dipped in deionized water to pattern the substrates.
Swab all SNO2 layers and anneal the substrates at approximately 150°C for 30 minutes.
Place a beaker over the substrates to reduce dust contamination.
Before the next stage, place substrates in the UV Ozone Cleaner for at least 20 minutes.

Perovskite Layer Deposition:

Perform perovskite layer deposition in an inert environment, using an Ossila Glove Box.
Filter perovskite material through a 0.2μm filter.
Place a substrate into the Spin Coater.
Spread 50μL of perovskite material onto the substrate.
Spin at 1000 RPM for 10 seconds, then 3000 RPM for 28 seconds.
At 13 seconds from the end, deposit 100μL of antisolvent in one continuous stream.
Observe color change as the intermediate phase forms
Move the substrate to a hotplate at 130°C and anneal for 10 minutes.

Spiro-OMeTAD Layer Deposition:

Filter Spiro-OMeTAD with dopants through a 0.2μm filter.
Place the perovskite-covered substrate into the Spin Coater and spin at 4000 RPM for 30 seconds.
During this spin cycle, deposit 25μL of Spiro-OMeTAD dynamically onto the substrate.
Ensure Spiro-OMeTAD is uniform in color and pinhole-free.
After spinning Spiro-OMeTAD layers, take the substrates out of the Glove Box.
Waft over the substrates to remove any surrounding solvent vapors.
Keep devices in a dry place away from UV light overnight to enhance device performance.

Final Steps:

Before evaporating the metal contact, remove excess material with a razor.
Swab devices with acetonitrile to fully remove perovskite material.
Place patterned devices into the appropriate evaporation mask.
To test devices, place one on a test board with an appropriate aperture mask.
Run current-voltage sweeps under a solar simulator using Ossila Solar Cell I-V software.
Enter experiment settings and start the sweep.
Observe the JV sweep in real-time.
Once complete, view the results on the right-hand side.

For more information on Perovskite Solar Cells, see Perovskite Solar Cells: Perovskite Materials and Transport Layers

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