<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/microwave-tech-cuts-perovskite-cell-cook-time-from-30-mins-to-just-30s/>
"Faster perovskite cell manufacturing may be around the corner, thanks to
technology advances that swaps out a hot plate for a microwave.
The technique is called ‘annealing’, a heat treatment that changes the physical
and sometimes chemical properties of a substance to make it less hard and more
flexible.
It’s being used by a combined team of researchers from Macquarie University,
University of New South Wales (UNSW), and solar startup Halocell Energy to
reduce the amount of fabrication time for a perovskite cell from 30 minutes on
said hot plate, to 30 seconds in what is effectively a microwave, reports
PV
Magazine Australia.
The microwave technology was invented by the Macquarie University team, led by
Dr Binesh Puthen Veetti. The idea is to ‘cook’ the cells using microwave
radiation, that selectively heats just the silicon.
Applying the concept in a commercial setting, alongside industry partner
Halocell Energy, means the team is trying to triple the rate at which annealing
happens while reducing energy use by 50 per cent, Veetti told the magazine.
While not quite as efficient as an oven, the team said in a paper in the US
Journal
Applied Physics Letters last year, it creates “massive” energy
savings during manufacturing.
Furthermore, the microwave treatment means the plastic coating heat-treated
onto the silicon plate can be more easily pulled off.
The higher, longer heat of putting the cell in an oven meant the economic
option was landfill, and the sustainable option was crushing and heating to
1400°C followed by a chemical wash to get the ethylene vinyl acetate layer off.
Using a microwave means targeting heat to specific parts of the panel, so more
intricate structures such as the newer heterojunction technology which weaves
crystalline and amorphous silicon together, can be used, Veetti said in a
statement last year.
The cleaner environment of a microwave causes less contamination as well, he
said."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
