Reducing Thermal\nDegradation of Perovskite Solar Cells\nduring Vacuum Lamination by Internal Diffusion Barriers

Current photovoltaic (PV) panels typically contain interconnected\nsolar cells that are vacuum laminated with a polymer encapsulant between\ntwo pieces of glass or glass with a polymer backsheet. This packaging\napproach is ubiquitous in conventional photovoltaic technologies such\nas silicon and thin-film solar modules, contributing to thermal management,\nmechanical reinforcement, and environmental protection to enable the\nlong lifetimes necessary to become financially acceptable. Commercial\nvacuum lamination processes typically occur at 150 °C to ensure\ncross-linking and/or glass bonding of the encapsulant to the glass\nand PV cells. Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a promising\nnext-generation PV technology that is known to degrade under thermal\nstresses, especially at temperatures above 100 °C. In this study,\nwe determine degradation modes during lamination and engineer internal\ndiffusion barriers within the PSC to withstand the harsh thermal conditions\nof vacuum lamination. PSCs with self-assembled monolayers at the ITO\ninterface and SnO<sub><i>X</i></sub> layers deposited by\natomic layer deposition at the electron extraction side of the device\nendured vacuum lamination at conditions typical of commercial PV processes\n(150 °C) without degradation. This work demonstrates that perovskite\nPV can be integrated into the existing module lamination process,\nenabling future single- and multijunction modules utilizing perovskite\nabsorbers.