Project description
Additive manufacturing with atomic resolution for solar cells
Atomic-layer additive manufacturing (ALAM) will be a thing. This is the scope of the EU funded ALAMS project, namely for the prototyping of solar cells in large arrays of microdevices. ALAM concept combines the principles of additive manufacturing (3D printing) with the atomic resolution achieved by the thin coating technique of atomic layer deposition (ALD). The prototype centres around a printhead that delivers the ALD precursors to the gas phase in the vicinity of the substrate surface, with a microfluidic element delivering a lateral resolution on the order of micrometres. The project will apply the ALAM concept to this specific case study; however, the concept is valid beyond the confines of photovoltaics – possibly improving additive manufacturing and microelectromechanical systems, too.
Objective
"The ALAMS project will provide the first application of ""atomic-layer additive manufacturing"" (ALAM), namely for the prototyping of solar cells in large arrays of microdevices. The ALAM concept combines the principles of additive manufacturing (3D printing) with the atomic resolution achieved by the thin coating technique atomic layer deposition (ALD). In ALD, atomic-level control is achieved by judiciously designing the surface reaction chemistry of molecular precursors at near-room temperature for it to become self-limiting. This renders experimental use of ALD very robust to a wide range of parameter variations, since the film growth occurs in a cyclic, layer-by-layer mode. This advantage will be exploited towards 3D printing, an area of application that ALD has never been used for until we built the first ALAM prototype in November
2019. This prototype centers around a printhead that delivers the ALD precursors to the gas phase in the vicinity of the substrate surface, with a microfluidic element delivering a lateral resolution on the order of micrometers. The motion of the printhead with respect to the substrate allows the user to print lines and structures of arbitrarily chosen geometries, whereby each pass over a given point of the substrate adds to it exactly the amount of material corresponding to one ALD monolayer, that is, a thickness typically on the order of an atom, or 0.1 nanometer (depending on the exact ALD reaction used). After developing the ALD chemistry needed for ALAM of the materials required to generate photovoltaic stacks, the ALAMS PoC project will apply it to a case study, namely the rapid prototyping of solar cell microdevices in large arrays. The ALAM concept, however, is valid beyond the confines of photovoltaic research. Its commercial potential stems from its position at the convergence of two highly modern, fast-growing markets, namely, additive manufacturing ('3D printing') and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)."
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology materials engineering coating and films
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics geometry
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2022-POC1
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
91058 ERLANGEN
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.