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. 2022 Nov 18;15(22):8218.
doi: 10.3390/ma15228218.

On-the-Fly Short-Pulse R2R Laser Patterning Processes for the Manufacturing of Fully Printed Semitransparent Organic Photovoltaics

Christos Kapnopoulos  1 , Alexandros Zachariadis  1 , Evangelos Mekeridis  2 , Spyros Kassavetis  1 , Christoforos Gravalidis  1 , Argiris Laskarakis  1 , Stergios Logothetidis  1   2
Affiliations

On-the-Fly Short-Pulse R2R Laser Patterning Processes for the Manufacturing of Fully Printed Semitransparent Organic Photovoltaics

Christos Kapnopoulos et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Ultrafast laser patterning is an essential technology for the low-cost and large area production of flexible Organic Electronic (OE) devices, such as Organic Photovoltaics (OPVs). In order to unleash the potential of ultrafast laser processing to perform the selective and high precision removal of complex multilayers from printed OPV stacks without affecting the underlying nanolayers, it is necessary to optimize its parameters for each nanolayer combination. In this work, we developed an efficient on-the-fly picosecond (ps) laser scribing process (P1, P2 and P3) using single wavelength and single step/pass for the precise and reliable in-line patterning of Roll-to-Roll (R2R) slot-die-coated nanolayers. We have investigated the effect of the key process parameters (pulse energy and overlap) on the patterning quality to obtain high selectivity on the ablation of each individual nanolayer. Finally, we present the implementation of the ultrafast laser patterning process in the manufacturing of fully R2R printed flexible semitransparent OPV modules with a 3.4% power conversion efficiency and 91% Geometric Fill Factor (GFF).

Keywords: fully printed; laser ablation; laser pattering; organic photovoltaics; roll-to-roll; semitransparent module.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Schematic of OPV device structure with P1, P2 and P3 scribes and (b) laser scribing pattern used for the manufacturing of OPV modules.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Calculated thickness (top) and penetration depth 1/α (bottom) of the photoactive layer at photon energy of 2.37 eV (wavelength of 532 nm) across the 1 m width web.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Optical microscopy images for below (a–c), optimum (d–f) and above (g–i) ablation threshold of P1, P2 and P3 processes. The white line indicates a 40 μm scale and dash line represent heat-affected zone outer boundaries.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Laser ablation threshold measurement and fitted curves produced for a focused spot size of ~45 μm and a 532 nm wavelength.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Process window map for P1, P2, P3 laser scribing. Black dots represent the parameters used for the devices.
Figure 6
Figure 6
SEM images for the optimum laser parameters (blue marks indicate the EDX analysis spots).
Figure 7
Figure 7
(a) Current density versus voltage for the fully printed semitransparent OPV cell and modules. (b) Photo of fully R2R printed OPV module with P1, P2 and P3 laser scribing processes achieving up to 91% Geometric Fill Factor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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