Publication date: 21st July 2025
Vapor phase deposition offers a scalable pathway for translating perovskite solar cell fabrication from laboratory-scale to continuous industrial manufacturing. Successful scale-up necessitates precise control of process parameters as well as robust process repeatability and reproducibility. Controlling the sublimation behavior and deposition kinetics of organic precursor materials remains a significant challenge in vapor-based fabrication processes. While the sublimation properties of methylammonium iodide have been extensively studied, [1-5] analogous studies on formamidinium iodide (FAI) remain scarce. [6,7] This study is the first to systematically investigate how the FAI precursor particle size and the geometry of the sublimation crucible influence the directionality of the emitted vapor flux during deposition.
We demonstrate that conical crucibles lead to beam-focusing of the emitted vapor flux, while cylindrical crucibles exhibit a broader and less directional emission profile. Furthermore, in the case of conical crucibles we observe a strong impact of the FAI particle size on the directionality of the vapor flux, whereas this effect does not occur for cylindrical crucibles. We show that such variations in emission profiles significantly impact the deposited film thickness uniformity, especially with respect to lateral source-to-substrate distance. The inconsistent particle size distribution found in commercial FAI powders in combination/in conjunction with conical crucibles therefore represents a significant challenge for reproducible and repeatable sublimation processes under laboratory conditions. Finally, analysis of commonly used inorganic materials reveals that effusion characteristics are highly material-dependent, adding to the complexity of multi-material deposition processes.
Our findings highlight the critical role of precursor particle size, choice of crucible geometry and spatial arrangement within the vacuum chamber to improve film homogeneity and ensure repeatability and reproducibility of laboratory-scale sublimation processes.
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