Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

The proposal herein is to fund a system of instruments for the experimental exploration of novel perovskite photovoltaic devices. The overall goal of the research program supported by this equipment is to develop new coating layers, nanostructured geometries, and optimized device configurations to expand the availability and equity of solar energy. This equipment would represent the beginning of experimental photovoltaics research in my lab, and would allow this focal point of my doctoral and postdoctoral research to be extended to my new experimental program at Western University. This system is primarily composed of a spin coater and slot-die coater to provide an industrially relevant fabrication process of the standard perovskite material along with the required hole and electron transport layers; an environmental chamber for accelerated lifetime testing of the devices; and an internal quantum efficiency measurement system for determining the spectrally resolved efficiency of the devices. Having dedicated equipment for perovskite photovoltaics fabrication is essential due to the sensitivity of the materials to contamination. Furthermore, the ability to test the material during the fabrication process (e.g. before and after coating layers) is critical to ensuring the accurate results on the impact of the processing, especially due to the short lifetimes of unencapsulated devices. Internal quantum efficiency measurements are specifically needed to confirm the nanophotonic enhancement effects of the nanostructured contact layers, determine the location of losses or gains in efficiency from encapsulation, and to determine the performance of devices in arbitrary lighting environments. These capabilities are not available anywhere at our University or the immediate vicinity, and are necessary for the advancement of my team's current NSERC Discovery-funded research, and our future success in NSERC Alliance applications. The system specifically would be used for the fabrication of photovoltaic devices that serve as the foundation for the research in my lab -- my students are currently working on computational topology optimization of nanostructured back contacts for perovskite solar cells, optimization algorithms for the geometry of photovoltaic shades, and hard coating layers for the enhanced stability of devices. Equipment to allow my trainees work to be demonstrated experimentally is urgently needed to provide validation of our simulated device designs, and to thus enhance the impact of our work while provide valuable hands-on experience to my trainees. This would finally be greatly beneficial to enhancing the career prestige and applied experience of my students, particularly those from groups under-represented in the physical sciences, and to expand our ability to recruit a diverse pool of future trainees.