Abstract
Creating uniform coatings of a solution-cast material is of central importance to a broad range of applications. Here, a robust and generic theoretical framework for calculating surface coverage by a solid film of material de-wetting a substrate is presented. Using experimental data from semiconductor thin films as an example, we calculate surface coverage for a wide range of annealing temperatures and film thicknesses. The model generally predicts that for each value of the annealing temperature there is a range of film thicknesses leading to poor surface coverage. The model accurately reproduces solution-cast thin film coverage for organometal halide perovskites, key modern photovoltaic materials, and identifies processing windows for both high and low levels of surface coverage. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 091602 |
| Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
| Volume | 104 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 3 2014 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): KUK-C1-013-04
Acknowledgements: The authors thank Colin Please, Cameron Hall, Giles Richardson, and Jamie Foster for fruitful discussions. This work was supported by EPSRC and Oxford Photovoltaics Ltd., through a Nanotechnology KTN CASE award, the European Research Council (ERC) HYPER PROJECT No. 279881. This publication is based in part upon work supported by Award No. KUK-C1-013-04, made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). A. G. is a Wolfson/Royal Society Merit Award Holder and acknowledges support from a Reintegration Grant under EC Framework VII. V. M. B. is an Oxford Martin School Fellow and this work was in part supported by the Oxford Martin School. S.J.C. and A. G. acknowledge support from EPSRC Award No. EP/I017070/1.
This publication acknowledges KAUST support, but has no KAUST affiliated authors.
