For many years, the development of solar cells has required the use of controlled atmosphere glove boxes. This device is essential for the characterization and development of photovoltaic cells, especially those with third generation thin films: organic solar cells, photosensitive pigment solar cells, quantum dot solar cells and perovskite structure photovoltaic cells.
A Glove Box for the Development of Solar Cells
For the development of solar cells, especially photovoltaic cells with perovskite structure, only glove boxes offer a controlled atmosphere. These types of solar cells have a capacity of light absorption on almost all visible wavelengths.
Perovskites are materials with a crystal structure identical to the mineral titanium and calcium oxide and are known for their superconductivity. Compared to conventional silicon cells, thin film perovskite cells also have the advantage of being more flexible, semi-transparent and very light.
The poor stability of thin-film perovskite cells in humid air and the risk of lead toxicity must be ruled out. It is therefore necessary to use glove boxes with high humidity regulation.
Much research is focused on developing alternatives to perovskites, such as kesterite materials, which are made of iron, copper sulfide and tin. However, glovebox manufacturers, such as Jacomex, offer devices suitable for all types of materials and technologies that are used in the development of solar cells.
Glove Boxes for the Development of Photovoltaic Cells
Jacomex offers solutions for the further optimization of solar cells in order to make them more efficient, stable and have a longer life span. Indeed, turnkey gloveboxes, adapted to each stage of characterization and development of photovoltaic cells.
The company designs and manufactures custom-made or standard glove boxes, with 3D modeling by its design office in order to integrate all the instrumentation required for the various processes (heating plates, evaporation frames for thin film vacuum deposition, spincoaters, etc.).
Traditionally used under nitrogen for operation at 1 ppm O2 and H2O, the glove boxes proposed by the company can be converted to operate under anaerobic conditions with 2 to 70% RH of adjustable hygrometry. This allows tests to be carried out at high humidity or in real atmospheric conditions.
The glove boxes offered by Jacomex have a neutral gas management and purification unit and maintain the flexibility to fit exactly to each need in terms of solar cell development.
