Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10K—ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES
  • H10K77/00—Constructional details of devices covered by this subclass and not covered by groups H10K10/80, H10K30/80, H10K50/80 or H10K59/80
  • H10K77/10—Substrates, e.g. flexible substrates
  • H10K77/111—Flexible substrates
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10F—INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION
  • H10F71/00—Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass
  • H10F71/139—Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass using temporary substrates
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D—PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D1/00—Processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials
  • B05D1/26—Processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials performed by applying the liquid or other fluent material from an outlet device in contact with, or almost in contact with, the surface
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D—PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D1/00—Processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials
  • B05D1/28—Processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials performed by transfer from the surfaces of elements carrying the liquid or other fluent material, e.g. brushes, pads, rollers
  • B05D1/286—Processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials performed by transfer from the surfaces of elements carrying the liquid or other fluent material, e.g. brushes, pads, rollers using a temporary backing to which the coating has been applied
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D—PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D2201/00—Polymeric substrate or laminate
  • B05D2201/02—Polymeric substrate
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D—PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D2252/00—Sheets
  • B05D2252/02—Sheets of indefinite length
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D—PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D2508/00—Polyesters
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D—PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D2701/00—Coatings being able to withstand changes in the shape of the substrate or to withstand welding
  • B05D2701/30—Coatings being able to withstand changes in the shape of the substrate or to withstand welding withstanding bending
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D—PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D5/00—Processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces to obtain special surface effects, finishes or structures
  • B05D5/12—Processes for applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces to obtain special surface effects, finishes or structures to obtain a coating with specific electrical properties
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D—PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D7/00—Processes, other than flocking, specially adapted for applying liquids or other fluent materials to particular surfaces or for applying particular liquids or other fluent materials
  • B05D7/02—Processes, other than flocking, specially adapted for applying liquids or other fluent materials to particular surfaces or for applying particular liquids or other fluent materials to macromolecular substances, e.g. rubber
  • B05D7/04—Processes, other than flocking, specially adapted for applying liquids or other fluent materials to particular surfaces or for applying particular liquids or other fluent materials to macromolecular substances, e.g. rubber to surfaces of films or sheets
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D—PROCESSES FOR APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
  • B05D7/00—Processes, other than flocking, specially adapted for applying liquids or other fluent materials to particular surfaces or for applying particular liquids or other fluent materials
  • B05D7/50—Multilayers
  • B05D7/56—Three layers or more
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H10K—ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES
  • H10K30/00—Organic devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation
  • H10K30/50—Photovoltaic [PV] devices

Definitions

• the present disclosure relates to techniques for producing and using transferable ultra-thin substrates. More particularly, and without limitation, the present disclosure relates to systems, machines, and methods for producing devices on transferable ultra-thin substrates in a manner that is fast and scalable. Structures including a device and a transferable ultra-thin substrate are also provided. The present disclosure further relates to use of structures that include ultra-thin substrates and devices.
• Ultra-thin semiconductor devices e.g., ultra-thin photovoltaic (PV) devices
• PV photovoltaic
• premade substrates such as plastic films and metal foils
• in-situ formed substrates such as chemical vapor deposited parylene or solution-processed polyimide.
• these devices are prepared on carrier substrates and may be delaminated upon completion of the device fabrication process.
• the presence of surface defects and thickness variation on premade ultra-thin substrates, along with challenges associated with handling such ultra-thin substrates prior to lamination onto a carrier have led to in-situ deposited substrates being more commonly used.
• systems and methods are provided that form a releasable substrate on a release liner carrier by applying a solution to the release liner carrier, and that form an electronic device over the releasable substrate to produce a transferable electronic device.
• the systems and methods may also include using a solution that includes a soluble resin.
• the systems and methods may further include using a solution that includes a soluble resin that is a polyester.
• the systems and methods may additionally include using a release liner carrier that includes a silicone coating.
• the systems and methods may also include identifying a characteristic for the releasable substrate, choosing a solution based on the identified characteristic, and applying the chosen solution to the release liner carrier to create a releasable substrate having the identified characteristic.
• the systems and methods may further include that the desired characteristic is an ultraviolet light filtering characteristic, and may further determine a concentration of an ultraviolet light filtering dye to include in the solution based on the ultraviolet light filtering characteristic, choose a solution that includes the determined concentration of the ultraviolet light filtering dye, and apply the chosen solution to form the releasable substrate having the ultraviolet light filtering characteristic.
• the systems and methods may additionally include that the desired characteristic is a thickness characteristic, and may further determine a concentration of a soluble resin to include in the solution based on the thickness characteristic, chose a solution that includes the determined concentration of the soluble resin, and apply the chosen solution to form the releasable substrate having the thickness characteristic.
• a structure including an electronic device.
• the structure comprises a silicone-coated release liner carrier, a releasable substrate comprising a resin and formed over the silicone-coated release liner carrier, and an electronic device that is formed over the releasable substrate.
• the structure may also include a releasable substrate that is a polyester.
• the structure may further include a release liner carrier that is configured to be removed from the releasable substrate without damaging the releasable substrate or the electronic device.
• the structure may additionally include an electronic device that is a photovoltaic device.
• the structure may also include an electronic device that is composed of at least a first functional layer and a second functional layer, the first functional layer being attached to the releasable substrate.
• the structure may further include that the releasable substrate has an ultraviolet filtering, moisture barrier, scratch resistant, anti-reflectance, or thickness characteristic.
• the structure may additionally include that the silicone-coated release liner carrier is flexible.
• a method that includes removing a silicone-coated release liner carrier from a releasable substrate comprising a resin, wherein the releasable substrate is attached to an electronic device, and applying the releasable substrate and electronic device to a permanent substrate.
• the method may also include reusing the silicone-coated release liner carrier to form another electronic device.
• the method may further include that the permanent substrate is a fabric.
• the method may additionally include that the releasable substrate is formed of a polyester.
• the method may also include operating the electronic device on the permanent substrate.
• FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an example method for producing a structure including a device, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 2 A is an atomic force micrograph of an example release liner carrier, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 2B is an atomic force micrograph of an example release liner carrier with a resin film releasable substrate coated on a surface of the release liner carrier, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example method for producing a releasable substrate having a characteristic, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 4 is a graph of light transmittance characteristics of an example releasable substrate formed on a release liner carrier with different concentrations of a UV-absorbing die, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 6 illustrates an example method for using a finished electronic device on a transferable ultra-thin substrate, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 7 illustrates another example system for carrying out methods disclosed herein, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 8 provides examples of coater machines, printing machines, and laminator/delaminator machines, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 9A is a top-down view of an example electronic device on an example transferable substrate, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 9C is a cross-sectional side view' of an example cell that may be part of a device on a transferable substrate, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 9D is a cross-sectional side view of an example device on a transferable substrate, in accordance w ith some embodiments.
• FIG. 9G is a flowchart of an example method for producing a device on a transferable substrate, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 9H is a diagram of an example system for making and using a device on a transferable substrate, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 91 is an image which illustrates an example process for using a device on a transferable substrate, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 9J is a graph and table illustrating example characteristics of a device on a transferable substrate, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 1 IB is an image of an example device on a transferable substrate and laminated onto a composite fabric, in accordance with some embodiments.
• FIG. 13 is a diagram of an example computer system, in accordance wi th some embodiments.
• releasable electronic devices may be transferred to lightweight, high-strength composite substrates such as lightweight, high- strength composite fabrics (i.e., fabrics comprising two or more disparate materials) or other materials or substrates which otherwise would not lend themselves to direct integration into a manufacturing process for producing an electronic device.
• lightweight, high-strength composite substrates such as lightweight, high- strength composite fabrics (i.e., fabrics comprising two or more disparate materials) or other materials or substrates which otherwise would not lend themselves to direct integration into a manufacturing process for producing an electronic device.
• the ability to prepare and transfer such electronic devices onto permanent substrates enables use of electronic devices with a large number of different t pes of surfaces, including but not limited to fabrics. Such surfaces may be disposed on. around or about people.
• the concepts, systems, devices, and techniques described herein enable the realization of active, lightweight, flexible surfaces and the incorporation of such surfaces into a wide variety 7 of systems.
• parylene e.g.. Parylene-C
• CVD chemical vapor deposition
• a scalable roll-to-roll process of manufacturing ultra-thin electronic devices may not be possible if a vacuum, CVD process is required as part of the process. Utilizing a vacuum CVD process to deposit pary lene has not yet been demonstrated in a scalable roll-to-roll production process.
• Embodiments of the present disclosure encompass systems, methods, and devices that can address the problems associated with conventional techniques for producing ultra-thin transferable substrates. More particularly, and without limitation, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for producing transferable ultra-thin substrates in a manner that is fast and scalable. Embodiments of the present disclosure may replace the vacuum CVD deposition process of parylene with solution-based processing, resulting in a faster and more scalable process for creating a releasable substrate. Example systems and methods disclosed herein may receive a release liner carrier, form a releasable substrate on the release liner carrier, and coat, print, and/or pattern one or more functional layers on top of the releasable substrate.
• a release liner carrier may be received by a manufacturing system.
• the system may apply a solution to the release liner carrier to thereby create a releasable substrate.
• the solution may include a soluble polymer resin (e.g.. polyester) formulation, which when dried leaves a releasable substrate formed of the resin.
• the system may then apply one or more functional layers of coating, printing, and/or patterning to create a device on the releasable substrate.
• the one or more functional layers may be formed using solution-based processes, such as by coating, printing, and/or patterning the additional layers.
• a releasable substrate and device may be formed using only solution-based processes, resulting in a manufacturing process that is faster and more scalable, and more useful for production on a roll-to-roll manufacturing line.
• FIG. 1 illustrates an example method 100, consistent w ith embodiments of the present disclosure.
• Example method 100 may be implemented by one or more machines (see, e.g., FIG. 8) in one or more manufacturing systems (see, e.g., FIGs. 5, 7, 9H).
• method 100 may be performed on a single roll-to-roll manufacturing system.
• some or all of method 100 may be performed by one manufacturing system, while one or more additional portions of method 100 may be performed by another manufacturing system.
• a release liner carrier see, e.g., FIGs. 2A, 2B, 5, 7, 9C-9E, 9G, 9H, 10.
• the release carrier liner may be received by a system (see, e.g., FIGs. 5, 7, 9H) including one or more machines (see, e.g., FIG. 8) for producing devices on ultra-thin transferable substrates.
• the release liner carrier may be made of a flexible material.
• the release liner carrier may be constructed of one or more materials selected based on characteristics such as chemical compatibility with resins dissolved in organic solvents, compatibility with scalable manufacturing processes (e.g., roll-to-roll compatible), surface energy, composite strength, flexibility, temperature stability, gauge variation, cost, transparency, adhesion, releasability, uniformity, appearance, and/or smoothness.
• the release liner carrier may include a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (e.g., polyester).
• PET polyethylene terephthalate
• the release liner carrier may also include a coating that may act as a release agent for later removing (e.g., peeling) the release liner carrier from another substrate.
• the coating may be a silicone coating.
• silicone-coated PET substrates used as medical liners, such as Saint Gobain 8799B may be used.
• the release liner carrier may include a fluorinated or fluorosilicone material.
• the release liner carrier received by the system may already include a coating (e.g., silicone coating).
• release liner carriers of this sort may be sourced from companies such as Saint-Gobain or Mitsubishi Plastics.
• a release liner carrier may be received by a system and the system may add the coating (e.g., silicone coating) to the release liner carrier.
• the coating may be added by slot-die coating (see, e g., slot-die coater 805 of FIG. 8), blade coating (see, e.g., blade coater 810 of FIG. 8), knife coating (see, e.g., knife coater 815 of FIG. 8), flexo coating (see, e.g., flexo coater 830 of FIG. 8), gravure coating (see, e.g., gravure coater 835 of FIG. 8), spin coating (see. e.g., spin coater 825 of FIG. 8), or spray coating (see. e.g., spray coater 840 of FIG. 8) the coating onto the release liner carrier.
• slot-die coating see, e g., slot-
• the coating of the release liner carrier may be provided to facilitate clean delamination of the release liner carrier from a releasable substrate and device to be formed on the release liner carrier, as will be further discussed below.
• the coating may be made of a material that is transparent, thermally stable, mechanically stable, and/or chemically resistant.
• the coating may have a thickness below 50 nm.
• the thickness uniformity of the coating may permit clean delamination of the releasable substrate and the device formed on the releasable substrate from the release liner carrier.
• the thickness uniformity of the coating may also permit formation of one or more functional layers of the device on top of the releasable substrate.
• the phrase “clean delamination” may refer to delamination that does not stress the device formed on the releasable substrate in such a way that the device is damaged.
• the phrase “clean delamination” may refer to any delamination in which the device and releasable substrate are separated from the release liner carrier without being damaged. The ability to safely remove the device from the release liner carrier may be important for using the device in many commercial and industrial applications.
• the release liner carrier may be received by the system in an arrangement such that the release liner carrier will provide structural support to a device while the device is being manufactured by the system.
• the device may be an electronic device.
• the device is a PV electronic device (see, e.g., FIGs. 9A-9J, 10, HA, 11B), though the disclosure is not so limited.
• Other example electronic devices that may be formed by the system include, for example, radio frequency (RF) circuits, integrated circuits, near field communication (NFC) or radio frequency identification (RFID) devices, antennas, transistors, sensors, or any other electronic device that can be printed on an ultra-thin substrate.
• RF radio frequency
• NFC near field communication
• RFID radio frequency identification
• a releasable substrate may be formed on the release liner carrier.
• the releasable substrate may be formed of any material that has sufficient flexibility and strength to permit the releasable substrate and the device formed on the releasable substrate to be peeled (or otherwise delaminated) from the release linear carrier.
• U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0104867 (U.S. Application No. 17/938,180), the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, discusses approaches to forming a releasable substrate using parylene as a releasable substrate.
• the deposition of parylene is performed with a vacuum process using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which may result in a process that is slow and non- scalable.
• CVD chemical vapor deposition
• a vacuum, CVD process is a slow process that can take several hours.
• a vacuum, CVD process may also require high temperatures.
• a vacuum, CVD process in forming ultra-thin transferable substrates may require moving production between different t pes of machines, such as between a machine capable of performing a vacuum, CVD process and other machines capable of solution-based (i.e., wet) coating/printing processes.
• a scalable roll-to-roll process for manufacturing ultra-thin electronic devices may not be possible if a vacuum, CVD process is required as part of the process. Utilizing a vacuum CVD process to deposit parylene has also not yet been demonstrated in a scalable roll-to-roll production process.
• Embodiments of the present disclosure offer solutions to the problems associated with the processes described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2023/0104867.
• one or more machines in 120, may apply a solution to the release liner carrier to form a releasable substrate on the release liner carrier.
• the releasable substrate may be formed of any material that can be produced by applying a solution to the release liner carrier, and that has a sufficient flexibility and strength to permit the releasable substrate and the device formed on the releasable substrate to be peeled (or otherwise delaminated) from the release carrier liner.
• the solution may be a composition of one or more solutes in a solvent.
• the solution may include a soluble resin, such as a polyester, in an organic solvent.
• the solution may be a solution that includes a resin such as polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or an epoxy, and may be used to create a releasable substrate formed of PVDC, PVDF, or epoxy, respectively.
• PVDC polyvinylidene chloride
• PVDF polyvinylidene fluoride
• epoxy epoxy
• the solution may be composed of a resin such as a solvent-based resin SKYBON ES-100 from SK Chemicals, SKYBON ES-120. or other resin solutions having substantially the same or similar characteristics, dissolved in an organic solvent.
• the organic solvent could be, for example, 2-pentanone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl propyl ketone, or the like.
• the resin may be dissolved in the solvent in a range of about 10 to about 20% wt/wt radio (resin/solvent).
• the solution may be prepared at room temperature or up to about 60° C to increase the rate of dissolution. Once formulated, the solution may have an extended shelf-life and may be able to be applied immediately or months later.
• characteristics of the releasable substrate may be varied by varying the concentration of the resin in the solution, the flow rate of the solution from the coating or printing machine, and/or the speed at which the release liner carrier moves through the manufacturing system (e.g., roll-to-roll manufacturing system).
• the resulting releasable substrate may be smooth enough to fabricate devices (e.g., electronic devices) on.
• FIG. 2A is an example atomic force micrograph of a release liner carrier, showing a root mean square roughness of 0.87 nm
• FIG. 2B is an atomic force micrograph of an example release liner carrier with a resin film releasable substrate coated on the surface of the release liner carrier, showing a root mean square roughness of 0.63 nm.
• the remaining procedures for forming a device on the releasable substrate may similarly be performed with solution-based (i.e., wet) approaches.
• solution-based i.e., wet
• a faster and more scalable process for manufacturing ultra-thin substrates can be provided.
• one or more functional layers of a device may be formed on the releasable substrate (see, e.g., FIGs. 9C-9E, 10).
• one or more machines see, e.g., FIG.
• a functional layer may be formed by applying a solution to the releasable substrate or to another functional layer that has already been formed.
• the functional layer may be formed of any material that can be produced by applying a solution to the releasable substrate or to another functional layer that has already been formed.
• the solution may be a composition of one or more solutes in a solvent.
• the solution may be sprayed or applied using a large-area coating technique such as slot-die coating (see, e.g., slot-die coater 805 of FIG.
• blade coating see, e.g., blade coater 810 of FIG. 8
• knife coating see, e.g., knife coater 815 of FIG. 8
• spin coating see, e.g., spin coater 825 of FIG. 8
• fl exo coating see, e.g., flexo coater 830 of FIG. 8
• gravure coating see, e.g., gravure coater 835 of FIG. 8
• spray coating see. e.g., spray coater 840 of FIG. 8).
• the solution may then be dried, such that the solvent dissolves, leaving a functional layer formed of the solutes.
• a functional layer may be formed by patterning a layer onto the releasable substrate or onto another functional layer that has already been formed.
• a layer may be patterned by screen printing (see, e.g., screen printer 845 of FIG. 8), ink-jet printing (see, e.g., ink-jet printer 850 of FIG. 8), or laser printing (see, e.g., laser printer 855 of FIG. 8) a material onto the release substrate or onto another functional layer.
• a laser printer see, e.g., laser printer 855 of FIG. 8 may be used to form a functional layer by forming scribes in an already existing functional layer of the device.
• 130 may be repeated until a device has been formed. That is, 130 may be repeated such that multiple functional layers are formed in a stack structure until a device (e.g., an electronic device) has been formed on the releasable substrate.
• a device e.g., an electronic device
• An example of forming one type of device, a PV device, will be further explained in detail with respect to FIGs. 9A-9J.
• method 100 may be implemented in a computing environment (see, e.g., computing environment 1200 of FIG. 12) using one or more computing systems (see, e.g., computing systems 1210 of FIGs. 12, 13).
• one or computing systems 1210 may be connected with one or more machines (see, e.g., example machines of FIG. 8) and/or systems (see, e.g., example systems of FIG. 5, 7, 9H) 1230 over one or more networks 1220.
• Computing system(s) 1210 may be configured to control machine(s) and/or system(s) 1230 to implement one or more of 110. 120, and 130 of FIG. 1.
• computing system(s) 1210 may control machine(s) and/or system(s) 1230 to receive a release liner earner (1 10), such as by moving rollers of a manufacturing system.
• Computer(s) 1210 may control machine(s) 1230 to form a releasable substrate (120) by instructing machine(s) 1230 to apply a solution to the release liner carrier.
• Computing system(s) 1210 may control machine(s) 1230 to coat and/or pattern one or more functional layers (130) by instructing machine(s) 1230 to apply one or more solutions to the releasable substrate or to an already formed functional layer, or by instructing machine(s) 1230 to pattern an already formed functional layer using a laser, for example.
• Method 300 may be performed as part of 120 of method 100 (see, e.g., FIG. 1). In some embodiments, method 300 may be performed as part of 120 to form a releasable substrate having certain desired characteristics.
• a desired characteristic for the releasable substrate is identified. The characteristic may be, for example, a thickness characteristic, an ultraviolet (UV) light filtering characteristic, a moisture barrier characteristic, an antireflective characteristic, a scratch resistance characteristic, or any other type of characteristic that can be added or modified by changing the composition of the solution to be applied to form the releasable substrate.
• UV ultraviolet
• the chosen solution may be applied to form the releasable substrate with the identified characteristic.
• the chosen solution may be sprayed or applied using a large-area coating technique such as slot-die coating (see. e.g., slot-die coater 805 of FIG. 8), blade coating (see, e.g., blade coater 810 of FIG. 8), knife coating (see, e.g., knife coater 815 of FIG. 8), spin coating (see, e.g., spin coater 825 of FIG. 8), flexo coating (see, e.g., flexo coater 830 of FIG. 8), gravure coating (see, e.g., gravure coater 835 of FIG.
• slot-die coating see. e.g., slot-die coater 805 of FIG. 8
• blade coating see, e.g., blade coater 810 of FIG. 8
• knife coating see, e.g., knife coater 815 of FIG. 8
• spin coating see, e.g
• spray coating see, e.g.. spray coater 840 of FIG. 8
• the solution may then be dried, such that the solvent dissolves, leaving a releasable substrate formed of the solutes and having the identified and desired characteristic.
• UV light filtering capabilities of the releasable substrate may be tuned by varying the concentration of a UV-absorbing dye in the solution used for forming the release substrate.
• the UV-absorbing dye may be, for example, Uvinul® 3050, though the disclosure is not so limited.
• method 300 may be implemented in a computing environment (see, e.g., computing environment 1200 of FIG. 12) using one or more computing systems (see, computing systems 1210 of FIGs. 12, 13).
• one or computing systems 1210 may be connected with one or more machines (see, e.g., example machines of FIG. 8) and/or systems (see, e.g., example systems of FIG. 5, 7, 9H) 1230 over one or more networks 1220.
• Computer(s) 1210 may be configured to control machine(s) and/or system(s) 1230 to implement one or more of 310, 320, and 330 of FIG. 3.
• computing system(s) 1210 may control machine(s) and/or system(s) 1230 to identify a characteristic for the releasable substrate (310) (e.g., by receiving a user input or otherwise receiving an instruction regarding the characteristic). Computing system) s) 1210 may then choose a solution to apply based on the identified characteristic (320). For example, computing system(s) 1210 may store in memory a list of solutions that are available to be applied to generate substrates having certain characteristics, and may choose one of the solutions using, for example, a lookup table. Alternatively, computing system(s) 1210 may instruct machine(s) and/or systems 1230 to choose a solution based on the identified characteristic.
• Computing system(s) 1210 may then apply the chosen solution to form the releasable substrate with the identified characteristic (330). For example, computing system(s) 1210 may control machine(s) and/or system(s) 1230 to coat and/or pattern one or more functional layers by instructing machine(s) 1230 to apply one or more solutions to the releasable substrate or to an already formed functional layer, or by instructing machine(s) 1230 to pattern an already formed functional layer using a laser, for example.
• FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating light transmittance characteristics of an example releasable substrate formed on a PET (e.g., polyester) carrier with different concentrations of a UV-absorbing die.
• the y-axis of the graph represents a percent transmittance of light
• the x-axis of the graph represents different wavelengths of light.
• the 100-400 nm wavelengths of light are typically considered to be UV light.
• Curves 400-412 in the graph of FIG. 4 illustrate the percentage of light that may be transmitted through a releasable substrate at different wavelengths of light based on different concentrations of a UV- absorbing die added to the solution used to form the releasable substrate.
• a thickness of the releasable substrate may be tuned by vary ing a concentration of a solute in the solvent of the solution to be applied to form the releasable substrate.
• a concentration of a resin (e.g.. polyester) in an organic solvent may be increased if a greater thickness is desired, or may be decreased if a lesser thickness is desired.
• a water-vapor/oxygen barrier characteristic of a releasable substrate may be tuned by adding, for example, a layer of silicon nitride.
• a layer of silicon nitride the thicker the silicon nitride barrier, the greater the water-vapor/oxygen barrier capabilities of the releasable substrate, though forming a silicon nitride layer that is too thick may lead to cracking and reduce the water-vapor/oxygen barrier capabilities of the substrate.
• method 300 may be repeated to form a releasable substrate having multiple characteristics.
• the process may be first performed to form a releasable substrate having UV filtering characteristics, and then another layer of the releasable substrate may be formed having moisture barrier characteristics.
• FIG. 5 illustrates an example system 500 for carrying out method 100, method 300, method 600, and/or method 950.
• System 500 is an example roll-to-roll manufacturing system.
• a release liner carrier 522 may be received by the system (e.g., corresponding to 110 of method 100 and/or 952 of method 950).
• one or more machines may form a releasable substrate on the release liner carrier
• the one or more machines may also perform method 300 to form the releasable substrate with certain characteristics.
• one or more functional layers may be coated and/or patterned onto the releasable substrate (e.g., corresponding to 130 of method 100 and/or 956 of method 950). This may be repeated any number of times required to form all the functional layers of the device (see, e.g., example 507b . . . 507n, collectively 506, and/or 956-970 of method 950).
• the releasable substrate and electronic device 523 may be attached to a permanent substrate 521 (e.g., corresponding to 620 of method 600).
• the releasable substrate and electronic device 523 may be attached to the permanent substrate by laminating them to the permanent substrate, gluing them to the permanent substrate, or any other known technique for attaching two substrates. Lamination may include, for example, laminating through use of a UV curing adhesive (e.g., DELO LP655) using a pouch laminator.
• the permanent substrate may be any substrate capable of being attached to the releasable substrate and electronic device 523. and may include, for example, fabric, plastic, metal, wood, ceramics, glass, stone, or composite materials.
• certain portions of the manufacturing may be performed manually, while other portions may be performed by one or more machines (see, e.g., example machines of FIG. 8).
• 518 and 520 of FIG. 5 may be performed manually. That is, once a finished electronic device has been formed on a releasable substrate and release liner carrier, at 518 a person may remove (e g., peel) the release liner carrier 522 from the releasable substrate and electronic device 523, and then at 520 the person may attach the releasable substrate and electronic device 523 to a permanent substrate 521 (e.g., like a sticker).
• a permanent substrate 521 e.g., like a sticker
• FIG. 6 illustrates an example method 600 for using a finished electronic device on a transferable ultra-thin substrate.
• Method 600 may be performed, for example, after a finished electronic device has been formed on a releasable substrate and release liner carrier (e.g., after method 100 is complete and/or after the processing in FIG. 5, FIG. 7, or FIG. 9H is complete).
• the release liner carrier may be removed from the releasable substrate.
• an electronic device may have already been attached to the releasable substrate, so removing the release liner carrier from the releasable substrate may also remove the release liner carrier from the electronic device.
• Removing the release liner carrier from the releasable substrate may involve peeling the releasable substrate from the release liner carrier (e.g., like removing a sticker from its backing paper).
• the coating on the release liner carrier e.g., silicone coating
• the coating on the release liner carrier may allow the releasable substrate and electronic device to be removed from the release liner carrier without putting too much stress or otherwise breaking the releasable substrate or electronic device.
• the releasable substrate and device may be attached to a permanent substrate.
• an electronic device may have already been formed on the releasable substrate, such that attaching the releasable substrate to the permanent substrate also causes the electronic device to be attached to the permanent substrate.
• attachment to the permanent substrate may be performed through use of lamination, glue, or any other method of attaching two substrates.
• the permanent substrate may be any substrate capable of being attached to the releasable substrate and electronic device, and may include, for example, fabric, plastic, metal, wood, ceramics, glass, stone, or composite materials.
• the permanent substrate may be an engineered polymer, such as a UHMWPE (e.g., composite fabric marketed as Dyneema® fabric).
• the electronic device may then be operated on the permanent substrate.
• a PV device may be operated on the permanent substrate to generate electric power by using solar cells. This electric power may then be used to power equipment or to recharge batteries, for example.
• the release liner carrier may be used again. That is, once the release liner carrier has been removed from the releasable substrate and electronic device, the release liner carrier can again be received by a manufacturing system for producing another electronic device. Reuse of the same release liner carrier may result in reduced production costs and/or be more sustainable (e.g., less harmful to the environment). In some embodiments, the same release liner carrier may be reused several times to produce several electronic devices.
• the releasable substrate and device may be applied to the permanent substrate (620) before the release liner carrier is removed from the releasable substate.
• the top functional layer of the electronic device may be applied to the permanent substrate (e.g., adhered to the permanent substrate by lamination), and the release liner carrier then removed from the releasable substrate.
• 610 and 620 may occur simultaneously.
• the top functional layer of the electronic device may be applied to the permanent substrate (e.g., by lamination) at the same time the release liner carrier is removed from the releasable substrate.
• one or more portions of method 600 may be performed by one or more systems.
• system 500 of FIG. 5 illustrates an example system that performs 610 (e.g., removing the release liner carrier 522 at 518) and 620 (e.g., applying the releasable substrate and electronic device 523 to a permanent substrate 521 at 520).
• one or more portions of method 600 may be performed manually by one or more persons. For example, a person may remove (e.g., peel) the release liner carrier from the releasable substrate and electronic device and then apply the releasable substrate and electronic device to a permanent substrate of their choosing.
• method 600 may be implemented in a computing environment (see, e.g., computing environment 1200 of FIG. 12) using one or more computing systems (see, computing systems 1210 of FIGs. 12, 13).
• one or computing systems 1210 may be connected with one or more machines (see, e.g., example machines of FIG. 8) and/or systems (see, e.g., example systems of FIG. 5, 7, 9H) 1230 over one or more networks 1220.
• Computing system(s) 1210 may be configured to control machine(s) and/or system(s) 1230 to implement one or more of 610, 620, and 630 of FIG. 6.
• FIG. 7 illustrates an example system 700 for carrying out method 100, method 300. method 600, and/or method 950.
• System 700 is an example roll-to-roll manufacturing system.
• a release liner carrier 722 may be received by the system (e.g., corresponding to 110 of method 100 and/or 952 of method 950).
• one or more machines may form a releasable substrate on the release liner carrier 722 (e.g., corresponding to 120 of method 100 and/or 954 of method 950).
• the one or more machines may also perform method 300 to form the releasable substrate with certain characteristics.
• one or more additional functional layers may be added.
• the additional layer(s) added at 7071 may be added to a structure that already includes the releasable substrate and functional layers formed on the releasable substrate, but that no longer includes the release liner carrier. This may be repeated for any number of times required to form multiple layers of the device (see, e.g., example 7071 .. . 707k, and/or 956-970 of method 950).
• the releasable substrate and electronic device may be attached to a permanent substrate 721 (e.g., corresponding to 620 of method 600).
• the permanent substrate may be any substrate capable of being attached to the releasable substrate and electronic device 723, and may include, for example, fabric, plastic, metal, wood, ceramics, glass, stone, or composite materials. Tn some embodiments, the permanent substrate may be an engineered polymer such as UHMWPE (e.g., composite fabric marketed as Dyneema® fabric).
• UHMWPE e.g., composite fabric marketed as Dyneema® fabric
• system 700 of FIG. 7 may form one or more functional layers on a releasable substrate while the releasable substrate is attached to a release liner carrier, and form additional functional layers on the already formed functional layers after the release liner carrier has been removed.
• FIG. 7 illustrates one system 700 for performing all portions of the manufacturing, the disclosure is not so limited.
• 704-707k may be performed by one system that includes one or more machines (see, e.g.. example machines of FIG. 8).
• 7071-707n may be performed by another system that includes one or more machines (see, e.g., example machines of FIG. 8).
• the disclosure is further not limited to roll-to-roll manufacturing systems.
• a person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that certain known batch-to-batch manufacturing systems could be used instead of a roll-to-roll manufacturing system.
• certain portions of the manufacturing may be performed manually, while other portions may be performed by one or more machines.
• 718 and 720 of FIG. 7 may be performed manually. That is, once one or more functional layers have been formed on a releasable substrate and release liner carrier, at 718 a person may remove (e.g., peel) the release liner carrier 722 from the releasable substrate and electronic device 723. Later, at 720, when the entire electronic device has been formed, a person may attach the releasable substrate and electronic device 723 to a permanent substrate 721 (e.g.. like a sticker).
• a permanent substrate 721 e.g. like a sticker
• the release liner carrier may provide important structural support in forming the functional layers of the electronic device, and without that support, the releasable substrate and/or functional layers of the stack may be more prone to breaking during manufacture. Additionally, a finished electronic device and releasable substrate without its release liner carrier may be fragile, making it challenging to transport for applying to a permanent substrate.
• the release liner carrier may provide important structural support in transporting the electronic device and releasable substrate, in addition to providing important structural support in manufacturing the electronic device.
• FIG. 8 provides example types of machines that may be used by systems (see, e g., FIGs. 5, 7, 9H) in producing an electronic device.
• FIG. 8 provides examples of machines that include a slot-die coater 805, a blade coater 810, a knife coater 815, a spin coater 825, a flexo coater 830, a gravure coater 835, and a spray coater 840. These machines may be used to apply a solution form a releasable substrate and/or one or more functional layers of an electronic device.
• FIG. 8 further provides examples of machines that include a screen printer 845, ink-jet printer 850, and laser printer 855.
• FIG. 8 further provides an example laminator/delaminator 820 that may be used for peeling or otherwise delaminating a release liner carrier from a releasable substrate, and for laminating a releasable substrate and electronic device onto a permanent substrate. Alternatively, separate delamination and lamination devices may be used. Though example coater, printing, and laminator/ delaminator machines are illustrated in FIG. 8, the disclosure is not limited to these machines.
• any type of solution-based coater and/or printing machine may be used, consistent with the embodiments presented herein.
• any machine that may be used to scribe a functional layer may be used in place of a laser printer 855, and any machine capable of peeling and/or adhering a device to a permanent substrate may be used in place of laminator/ delaminator 820.
• FIG. 9A illustrates an example flexible PV device 900, according to aspects of the disclosure.
• the PV device 900 may include a plurality of cells 902 separated by interconnection regions 904.
• the PV device 900 may include terminals 921 and 923, which are configured to connect the PV device 900 to external circuitry.
• Each of the cells 902 may have a width W1 and a length L, and each of the interconnection regions 904 may have a width W2.
• the concepts and structures are not limited to any specific dimensions for the cells 902 or interconnection regions 904.
• the PV device 900 includes twenty-five (25) cells, it will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the PV device 900 including any particular number of cells. In some applications, PV device 900 may comprise more than 25 cells while in other applications PV device 900 may comprise less than 25 cells. After reading the disclosure provided herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate how to select the number of cells to include for any particular application.
• the PV device 900 may be divided into stripes 905 and modules 907.
• a stripe 905 includes a column of cells 902 and an interconnection region 904 that is directly adjacent to the column.
• a module 907 includes a row of cells 902.
• each stripe 905 may be 10 mm wide, with 3 mm for serial interconnection.
• each of the modules 907 includes 5 serially connected cells, each of size 1.5cm-, resulting in 7.5cm 2 of active area per module.
• FIG. 9D shows the interconnectivity between individual cells 902.
• the PV device 900 may be manufactured in relatively large sheets (e.g., sheets having a size in the range of about 100 to about 1,000 square meters such as 1x100 meters). After manufacture, such sheets may subsequently be rolled before they are shipped to a customer or put in storage. As is discussed further below, the PV device 900 may be formed on a flexible release liner carrier. After the PV device 900 is manufactured, the carrier may be peeled off (or otherwise delaminated from the PV device 900) and the PV device 900 may be laminated over a permanent substrate.
• the permanent substrate may be a sheet of flexible material, such as fabric, or alternatively, the permanent substrate may be a panel of rigid or semi-rigid material.
• the PV device 900 may be laminated over the roof of a tent, and used to provide power to people inside the tent.
• the PV device 900 may be laminated over a plastic base and used to form a solar panel this way.
• the PV device 900 is suitable for use in manufacturing settings in which the PV device 900 is both printed and laminated in the same manufacturing line. This is made possible by the PV device 900 being flexible and fully capable of being rolled. An example of an integrated manufacturing line for the production and lamination of the PV device 900 is shown in FIG. 9H.
• FIG. 9B is an image of an example PV device 900.
• FIG. 9B is provided to illustrate that the PV device 900 may be flexible and thin. These characteristics make the PV device 900 especially suitable for mounting on fabric in roll-to-roll processing (see, e.g., FIG. 9H). The suitability for roll-to-roll processing of the PV device 900 may make the PV device 900 less costly to manufacture and use at scale than PV devices having similar electrical characteristics but which are relatively rigid PV devices as compared to the PV devices described herein.
• FIGs. 9C and 9D show cross-sectional views of an example PV device 900, according to aspects of the disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 9C is a cross-sectional side view of an example individual cell 902 of PV device 900. FIG. 9D is a cross-sectional side view of an example entire module 907 of the PV device 900. FIG. 9C shows in greater detail examples of individual material layers that may be stacked to form the PV device 900, whereas FIG. 9D illustrates in greater detail example insulating layers and printed conductive interconnects between different cells 902 of PV device 900.
• the PV device 900 may include a release liner carrier 914, a releasable substrate 916, a transparent electrode layer 918, an electron transport layer 920, a photoactive layer 922, a hole transport layer 924, and a back contact electrode layer 926.
• the release liner carrier 914 may be arranged to provide structural support to the PV device 900 while the PV device 900 is manufactured, and before the PV device 900 is laminated onto a permanent base.
• the release liner carrier 912 may be a coated release liner carrier 914, such as a silicone-coated release liner like those that may be sourced from companies such as Saint-Gobain or Mitsubishi Plastics.
• the release liner carrier 914 may be a silicone-coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet.
• PET polyethylene terephthalate
• the present disclosure is not limited to using any specific material to implement the release liner carrier 914.
• release liner carrier 914 may have a root mean square (RMS) roughness of ⁇ 5 nm. However, the present disclosure is not limited to any specific RMS roughness of release liner carrier 914. In some implementations, release liner carrier 914 may have a thickness in the range of 500-700 gauge, however the present disclosure is not limited to any specific thickness of the release liner carrier 914. In the examples of FIGs. 9C and 9D, the release liner carrier 914 is made of a flexible material. Alternative implementations are possible in which the release liner carrier 914 is made of rigid material.
• the phrase “clean delamination” may refer to a delamination that does not stress PV device 900 to the point at which PV device 900 is damaged.
• the phrase “clean delamination'’ may refer to any delamination in which PV device 900 is separated from release liner carrier 914 without being damaged.
• the ability to safely remove PV device 900 from release liner earner 914 may be important for using PV device 900 in many commercial and industrial applications.
• the term “PV device 900”, as used throughout the disclosure may refer to all layers in the stack structure shown in FIG. 9C or only layers 918-926 or layers (or only layers 916-926).
• the releasable substrate 916 may be 1-5 microns thick.
• transparent electrode layer 918 may be formed by coating with a coater (see, e.g., slot-die coater 805, blade coater 810, knife coater 815, spin coater 825, flexo coater 830, gravure coater 835 and/or spray coater 840, of FIG. 8), and drying the coated sheets in an oven at 125°C, for 5 minutes. It will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to any specific method for making the transparent electrode layer 918. Additionally or alternatively in some implementations, transparent electrode layer 918 may be formed of a combination of PEDOT:PSS and silver nanowire ink.
• the resulting structure may be laser-patterned (e.g., using laser printer 855 of FIG. 8) using an infrared laser (e g., Xiaming Laser Company TM, XM-20D) to create scribes 941 (shown in FIG. 9D).
• a coated insulator e.g., Creative Materials TM, 111-27 to form a pair of dielectric layers 942.
• the insulator may be coated using any one or more of slot-die coater 805, blade coater 810, knife coater 815, spin coater 825, fl exo coater 830, gravure coater 835, or spray coater 840, of FIG.
• Dielectric layers 942 may limit yield losses due to edge defects from laser scribing, and may also define lanes within which subsequent layers (e.g., layers 920-924) would be coated.
• a respective conductive interconnect 943 may be formed between the dielectric layers 942 in each of the pairs of dielectric layers 942.
• Conductive interconnects 943 may be formed of the same material as the back contact electrode layer 926.
• both back contact electrode layer 926 and conductive interconnects 943 may be formed by printing silver ink over the structure that results after the hole transport layer 924 is formed. The silver ink may be printed, for example, using one or more of screen printer 845, ink-jet printer 850, or laser printer 855, of FIG. 8.
• the conductive interconnects may be used to form a serial electrical connection between the cells 902 in the module 907.
• the electron transport layer 920 may be formed over transparent electrode layer 918.
• electron transport layer 920 may be formed by using tinoxide and/or any other suitable type of material. Additionally or alternatively, in some implementations, electron transport layer 920 may be formed by coating tin-oxide nanoparticles (e.g., Avantama, N-31) onto transparent electrode layer 918 and drying the resulting structure in an oven at 120°C, for 3 minutes. It will be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to any specific method or material for forming electron transport layer 920.
• the tin-oxide and/or other suitable material may be coated and/or printed using one or more of slot-die coater 805, blade coater 810, knife coater 815, spin coater 825, flexo coater 830, gravure coater 835, spray coater 840, screen printer 845, ink-jet printer 850, or laser printer 855, of FIG. 8.
• the photoactive layer 922 may be formed with a photoactive ink, such as a blend of organic semiconducting compounds.
• the blend of organic semiconducting compounds may include derivatives of poly (3 -hexylthiophene) (e.g., Raynergy-TekTM, PV2000 ) and phenylbutyric acid methyl ester (PCBM).
• a photoactive ink may be prepared by dissolving the blend PV2000:PCBM (14 mg/mL) in o-xylene, and stirring overnight at 85°C. Afterwards, the photoactive ink may be applied onto the electron transport layer 920 and dried in an oven at 120°C, for 3 minutes.
• the photoactive ink may be coated and/or printed using one or more of slot-die coater 805, blade coater 810, knife coater 815, spin coater 825, flexo coater 830, gravure coater 835, spray coater 840, screen printer 845, ink-jet printer 850, or laser printer 855, of FIG. 8.
• the hole transport layer 924 may be formed over photoactive layer 922.
• Hole transport layer 924 may be formed by applying poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOTPSS) over photoactive layer 922 and curing the resulting structure in an oven at 120°C, for 3 minutes.
• PEDOTPSS poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate
• the present disclosure is not limited to using any specific method or material to form hole transport layer 924.
• the positions of the hole transport layer 924 and the electron transport layer 920 may be interchanged in the stack shown in FIG. 9C.
• the material used in forming the hole transport layer may be coated and/or printed using one or more of slot-die coater 805, blade coater 810, knife coater 815, spin coater 825, flexo coater 830, gravure coater 835, spray coater 840, screen printer 845, ink-jet printer 850, or laser printer 855, of FIG. 8.
• the back contact electrode layer 926 may be formed by applying silver ink (Heraeus TM. SOL530B) over hole transport layer 924 and curing the resulting structure in an oven at 120°C, for 3 minutes.
• the silver ink may be coated and/or printed using one or more of slot-die coater 805, blade coater 810, knife coater 815. spin coater 825, flexo coater 830, gravure coater 835, spray coater 840, screen printer 845, ink-jet printer 850, or laser printer 855, of FIG. 8.
• FIGs. 9C and 9D are provided to illustrate an example of one possible semiconductor structure that can be formed over the stack including release liner carrier 914 and releasable substrate 916.
• the present disclosure is not limited to any specific type of semiconductor structure being formed on the stack including release liner carrier 914 and releasable substrate 916.
• forming any semiconductor structure on a stack including release liner carrier 914 and releasable substrate 916 permits the semiconductor structure to be later laminated on a flexible or rigid base.
• FIG. 9E is a diagram of an example of a process for making and using PV device 900. according to aspects of the disclosure. Although FIG. 9E shows the evolution of an individual cell 902 of PV device 900 through different process stages, it will be understood that the process described with respect to FIG. 9E applies to the entire PV device 900.
• 981 and 982 may be performed as follows. Tin-coated copper bus bars (Adhesive Research, ARcare 90038) may be electrically coupled to the terminals 921 and 923 (shown in FIGs. 9A and 9D).
• the receiving substrate of interest in the present example, an engineered polymer, such as an UHMWPE (e.g., composite fabric marketed as Dyneema® fabric), may be laminated onto PV device 900, with the use of a UV curable adhesive (DELO TM, LP655) and a pouch laminator (Akiles. ProLam Ultra X6).
• PV device 900 may be delaminated off release liner carrier 914 simply by lifting the edge and rolling it off with a cylindrical rolling pin.
• FIG. 9F is an example photograph of a PV device 900 being laminated onto a permanent substrate.
• the permanent substrate may be an engineered polymer such as a UHMWPE (e.g., composite fabric marketed as Dyneema® fabric).
• the engineered polymer and the PV device 500 are passed through a laminator with sufficient UV -activated adhesive dispensed in between the two.
• FIG. 9F is provided to illustrate a non-limiting example of the application of the PV device 900 in a lab or small-scale setting.
• FIG. 9G illustrates an example method 950 for forming an electronic device (e.g., a PV device 900) on a transferable ultra-thin substrate, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.
• a release liner carrier may be received.
• a releasable substrate may be formed over the release liner carrier.
• a transparent electrode layer may be formed over the releasable substrate.
• a scribe may be formed in the electrode layer.
• a structure may be formed in the scribe and over the electrode layer. As discussed above with respect to FIG. 9D. the structure 989 may include a pair of dielectric layers 942.
• an electron transport layer may be formed over the transparent electrode layer.
• a photoactive layer may be formed over the electron transport layer.
• a hole transport layer may be formed over the photoactive layer.
• a conductive interconnect may be formed between the pair of dielectric layers.
• a back contact electrode layer may be formed over the hole transport layer.
• method 950 may be implemented in a computing environment (see, e.g., computing environment 1200 of FIG. 12) using one or more computing systems (see, computing systems 1210 of FIGs. 12, 13).
• one or computing systems 1210 may be connected with one or more machines (see, e.g., example machines of FIG. 8) and/or systems (see, e.g., example systems of FIG. 5, 7, 9H) 1230 over one or more networks 1220.
• FIG. 9H is an example system 901 for manufacturing and using the PV device 900 by using a roll-to-roll manufacturing line.
• system 901 may be used to form a releasable substrate and electronic device using method 950 of FIG. 9G.
• a release liner carrier may be received and fed through the manufacturing line.
• the release liner carrier may be a coated release liner carrier, such as a silicone coated released liner carrier.
• the silicone coated release liner carrier may be commercially available.
• the release liner carrier may be formed by coating a material (e.g., silicone) onto a PET carrier.
• a releasable substrate may be formed on the release liner carrier using one or more machines (see, e.g., example machines of FIG. 8). As discussed above, the releasable substrate may be formed by applying a solution to the release liner carrier and allowing the solution to dry. In some embodiments, the releasable substrate is a resin (e.g., polyester) substrate that is formed by applying a solution of the resin in an organic solvent and allowing the solution to dry'.
• a transparent electrode layer is formed on the releasable substrate. As noted above, the transparent electrode layer may be formed by coating or printing (e.g., using one or more example machines of FIG.
• the composite fabric marketed as Dyneema® fabric may be one of the best materials commercially available for high-strength, low-weight applications. At 13 grams per square meter, and over 5kN/m in tensile strength, the lightest offering of Dyneema® fabric may present itself as a highly suitable receiving substrate of the ultra-thin solar devices. It may lend significant mechanical support without adding much weight to the overall system. As noted above in the example of FIG. 5, the PV device 900 may be transfer-laminated with the use of a UV curing adhesive (DELO LP655).
• DELO LP655 UV curing adhesive
• the two films may be sandwiched with ample adhesive to ensure no dry spots and air bubbles are formed. Once UV cured, trimming the edges of the assembly may create a break between the releasable substrate 916 and the release liner carrier 914, and allow for swift delamination of the release liner carrier 914 from the assembly including the PV device 900 and the Dyneema® fabric.
• FIG. 9J illustrates characteristics of a test device before and after delamination.
• the plots in the graph illustrate current voltage characteristics of a test device before being peeled from the release liner carrier and after being peeled from the release liner carrier.
• the before peel and after peel devices show comparable current voltage performance.
• FIG. 9J, and Table 1 below further illustrates properties of the test devices before and after peel, such as open circuit voltage (Voc) characteristics, short-circuit current density (Jsc) characteristics, fill factor (FF) characteristics, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) characteristics.
• Voc open circuit voltage
• Jsc short-circuit current density
• FF fill factor
• PCE power conversion efficiency
• Fig. 91 illustrates a delamination of a PV device 900 from a release liner carrier onto a Dyneema fabric after UV exposure.
• An adhesive mat may be used to stabilize the release liner carrier while the PV device 900 is delaminated with a rolling pin.
• FIG. 91 is provided to illustrate a non-limiting example of the application of a PV device 900 in a lab or small-scale setting.
• FIG. 10 illustrates an example cross section of a module 1000 of a PV device 900, which may be the same PV device as PV device 900 described with respect to FIGs. 9A-9J.
• PV device 900 may include a silicone coated release liner carrier 1005.
• the release liner carrier may include a fluorinated or fluorosilicone material.
• the release liner carrier 1005 may extend across all cells 1040 of PV device 900.
• the release liner carrier 1005 may be approximately 125 pm in thickness, though the disclosure is not so limited.
• the release liner carrier may have a thickness in the range of about 50 pm to about 150 pm, though the disclosure is not so limited.
• PV device 900 may also include a polyester resin releasable substrate 1010.
• the releasable substrate 1010 may also extend across all cells 1040 of PV device 900.
• the releasable substrate 1010 may be approximately 3- 5 pm in thickness, though the disclosure is not so limited.
• the electron transport layers 1020 may be formed by coating tin-oxide nanoparticles (e.g., Avantama, N-31) on to the transparent electrode layer 1015 and drying the resulting structure in an oven at 120° C for 3 minutes.
• the electron transport layer 1020 may be approximately 40-100 nm in thickness, though the disclosure is not so limited.
• scribes 1055 may be formed between each of the five cells of the module.
• a pair of dielectric layers 1050 also labeled as Pl
• each dielectric layer 1050 may be approximately 6 pm in width, though the disclosure is not so limited.
• a conductive interconnect 1045 also labeled as P2
• a positive terminal 1060 and negative terminal 1065 may be provided at either end of the module 1000 to receive electrical power generated by the cells 1040 of the module 1000.
• FIG. 1 1A is an example picture of a free-standing test PV device. That is, the PV device illustrated in FIG. 11A has been removed (e g., peeled) from its release liner carrier.
• FIG. 11B is an example picture of a test PV device that has been applied to a permanent substrate. In this case, the test PV device was laminated onto a composite fabric.
• PV device 900 presents further aspects of PV devices, such as PV device 900, as well as further aspects of processes for making and using the PV devices.
• This section describes example aspects of the preparation of the release liner carrier, the releasable substrate, and the transparent electrode layer of a PV device, such as PV device 900.
• glass has been the carrier material of choice in literature for preparing such ultra-thin devices, it does not readily lend itself to integration into large-area coating techniques such as slot-die coating and screen printing. Owing to the brittle nature of glass and its inability to be slit and trimmed with ease, the present disclosure instead discusses flexible release liner carriers.
• PET polyethylene terephthalate
• These PET sheets may be coated to allow for delamination of the release substrate and electronic device.
• the PET sheets may be coated with silicone.
• Coatable materials for a transparent electrode may include highly conducting poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), silver nanowires (AgNW), and screen-printed silver meshes.
• PEDOT:PSS polystyrene sulfonate
• AgNW silver nanowires
• FIGs. 9A- 9E describes use of silver nanowire ink.
• the transparent electrode layer is formed of PEDOT PSS or a combination of PEDOT PSS and silver nanowire ink.
• the ink may be coated onto the substrate with the use of a slot-die sheet-to-sheet coater.
• optimized coating conditions may lead to a transparent (-85% transmittance) and conductive (15-17 Q/sq) layer.
• PEDOT:PSS matrix may lead to (1) reduced surface roughness, as compared to films of nanowires coated without any filler; and (2) isotropic sheet resistance which may otherwise be affected by selective orientation of nanowires during the coating process.
• several points on multiple coated test sheets were measured, both in the coating and transverse directions, and the calculated average of sheet resistances in the respective directions were 16.4 Q/sq and 17.4 Q/sq demonstrating the conductance isotropy.
• the transparent electrode may be patterned with an infrared laser to create scribes, such as the 941 scribes which are discussed above with respect to FIG. 9D.
• scribes may be spaced 13mm apart with the intention of creating modules with 10 mm w ide cells and 3 mm wide interconnects.
• An example schematic of the module geometry is discussed above with respect to FIG. 9D.
• Laser ablation of the silver nanowire films may result in edge defects, which may pose a risk to electrical shorts in the device and may limit overall yields in a scaled manufacturing process.
• the scribes may be encapsulated with a slot-die coated insulator, which also may define the lanes in which subsequent layers (e.g., conductive interconnect 943) are to be coated in.

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• 2023
  • 2023-11-28 CN CN202380059774.9A patent/CN119768272A/zh active Pending
  • 2023-11-28 EP EP23898662.4A patent/EP4626699A2/de active Pending
  • 2023-11-28 WO PCT/US2023/081244 patent/WO2024118543A2/en not_active Ceased

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