Periodic Reporting for period 2 - REMAP (REusable MAsk Patterning)
Période du rapport: 2023-03-01 au 2024-08-31
REMAP aims to address the pressing problems and needs associated with large-scale manufacturing of semiconductor-quality surface patterns for industries such as photovoltaics. The project takes a multidisciplinary approach, integrating input from chemistry and physics to engineering, economics and social sciences to better understand and tackle the complex challenges at hand.
Our overall objective is to demonstrate a radically new microfabrication methodology going way beyond the accepted paradigm of optical projection lithography for what concerns the energy and material sustainability. The principle is based on the reversible formation and erasure of templates on a substrate’s surface, enabling to preferentially direct the deposition of functional materials according to pre-set designs. The targeted resolution in the range of tens of micrometers is appealing for the solar cell industry.
The scale of impact resulting from our scientific advancements in the long term is still hard to imagine because one of the objectives is to uncover the physical limits of the underlying concept. In the medium term, REMAP’s results are expected to contribute significantly to a rejuvenation of EU’s photovoltaic manufacturing, due to an innovation-driven competitiveness.
Our overall objective is to demonstrate a radically new microfabrication methodology going way beyond the accepted paradigm of optical projection lithography for what concerns the energy and material sustainability. The principle is based on the reversible formation and erasure of templates on a substrate’s surface, enabling to preferentially direct the deposition of functional materials according to pre-set designs. The targeted resolution in the range of tens of micrometers is appealing for the solar cell industry.
The scale of impact resulting from our scientific advancements in the long term is still hard to imagine because one of the objectives is to uncover the physical limits of the underlying concept. In the medium term, REMAP’s results are expected to contribute significantly to a rejuvenation of EU’s photovoltaic manufacturing, due to an innovation-driven competitiveness.
REMAP’s pathway to impact involves several stages of planning, implementation, and evaluation to ensure maximum efficacy. First, we formulate a smart multifunctional fluid containing magnetic nanoparticles and electrochemical molecules developed in parallel. We design and fabricate a special electronic circuit to generate micro-structured magnetic fields able to generate the sought pattern design by remotely manipulating the shape of the smart fluid. We then deposit appropriate features in sequence on a glass substrate to produce a solar cell prototype proving the concept. So far, we are on track on the development of the smart fluid and the electronic circuit design, whereas proof of concept is scheduled towards the end of the project.
REMAP has already demonstrated an impactful solution to the generation of micro-structured magnetic fields via the invention of cleverly designed electronic circuits that may find applications beyond the originally intended purpose. Details about this achievement cannot be disclosed until protection of the results is implemented.