Taking temperature processing out of dye-sensitized solar cell fabrication: Fully laser-manufactured devices

Novel approaches for the fabrication of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are reported in which all the main constituent materials are processed by laser radiation. In addition to laser sintering of the nanocrystalline TiO2 film it is shown that lasers can be successfully utilized for nc-TiO2 film patterning, platinization of the counter-electrode, and efficient gasket sealing. All the mentioned processes are optimized and utilized for the fabrication of the first efficient and durable all-laser-based DSCs. Under one sun A.M. 1.5 illumination the power conversion efficiency (PCE) is 5.3% (6.2% unmasked) and also greater than or equal to the PCE of the cell fabricated with the same materials set but processed using conventional procedures (5.2%). These results open up a new scenario for DSC technology, i.e., that of setting up an entire, laser-based, three-step DSC pilot production line with tangible advantages in terms of effective processing, automation, large area scalability, and embedded energy.