Scalable Fabrication Techniques for Perovskite Solar Cells

Scalable fabrication of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) seeks to transition laboratory-scale efficiencies into commercially viable modules. Traditional spin coating, while delivering high power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) in small-area devices, is inherently unsuitable for large‐area or continuous manufacturing. Alternative approaches such as doctor blading, slot-die coating, gravure printing, spray coating and roll-to-roll (R2R) processing have emerged to address throughput, material utilisation and uniformity over metre‐scale substrates. These techniques rely on precise control of ink rheology, solvent evaporation kinetics and interfacial engineering to yield dense, pinhole-free perovskite films with desirable crystallinity and grain orientation. Antisolvent bathing or vacuum-assisted pre-crystallisation is often employed to regulate nucleation and growth, while surface modifications of transport layers mitigate recombination losses at buried interfaces. Fully printed architectures, incorporating solution-processed electrodes and charge transport layers, have demonstrated mechanical flexibility and environmental stability compatible with flexible modules. Recent advance in meniscus-assisted printing and the use of eco-friendly antisolvents have underpinned pilot-scale R2R lines that achieve uniform precursor wet films and high PCE retention under operational stress. By harmonising materials chemistry with scalable deposition tools, the field is moving towards cost-effective, high-throughput manufacturing routes capable of driving perovskite photovoltaics towards industrial realisation.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A meniscus-assisted solution printing strategy has been demonstrated to control solvent evaporation and convective solute transport, producing micrometre-scale grains with preferred crystallographic orientation. Films formed via this approach yield planar PSCs with efficiencies approaching 20 % and exhibit robust crystallisation dynamics amenable to large-area coating. Separately, a gravure-printed R2R process incorporating an eco-friendly antisolvent bathing step has enabled pilot-scale manufacture of flexible modules. This route achieves formamidinium-based perovskite films with high crystallinity, delivering up to 19.1 % on flexible substrates and 13.8 % for fully R2R-produced devices, while retaining over 80 % of initial PCE after prolonged humidity exposure. In addition, fully spray-coated triple-cation PSCs fabricated by sequential ultrasonic deposition of electron transport, perovskite and hole transport layers demonstrate a champion small-area PCE of 19.4 %. Parallel connection of multiple spray-coated devices yields centimetre-scale modules with over 12 % efficiency, underscoring the viability of high-speed, large-area spray processing for commercial PSC production.

Scalable Fabrication Techniques for Perovskite Solar Cells publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in scalable fabrication techniques for perovskite solar cells across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Power conversion efficiency (PCE): The ratio of electrical power output to incident solar power, expressed as a percentage.

Doctor blading: A blade-based coating method that spreads ink uniformly across a substrate using a fixed gap.

Slot-die coating: A precision coating technique where ink is extruded through a narrow slot onto a moving substrate, enabling continuous film deposition.

Gravure printing: An R2R direct printing process using engraved cylinders to deposit patterned layers at high speed.

Meniscus-assisted solution printing: A method exploiting the ink meniscus to control solvent evaporation and solute transport for grain engineering.

Antisolvent bathing: Immersing or drizzling a non-solvent over a wet film to rapidly induce crystallisation of the perovskite phase.

References

1. Meniscus-assisted solution printing of large-grained perovskite films for high-efficiency solar cells. Nature Communications (2017).
2. Roll-to-roll gravure-printed flexible perovskite solar cells using eco-friendly antisolvent bathing with wide processing window. Nature Communications (2020).
3. Fully Spray-Coated Triple-Cation Perovskite Solar Cells. Scientific Reports (2020).
4. Crystallization and Orientation Modulation Enable Highly Efficient Doctor-Bladed Perovskite Solar Cells. Nano-Micro Letters (2023).
5. Ink Design Enabling Slot‐Die Coated Perovskite Solar Cells with >22% Power Conversion Efficiency, Micro‐Modules, and 1 Year of Outdoor Performance Evaluation. Advanced Energy Materials (2023).
6. Fully printed flexible perovskite solar modules with improved energy alignment by tin oxide surface modification. Energy & Environmental Science (2024).