VAPOURISE · Multi-modal platforms to drive vapour deposition of modular hybrid perovskite devices

Disruptive new technologies for generation, storage and use will be essential to drive the green energy transition and progress society. Such technologies must be developed with sustainable, high-throughput manufacturing, and maintain high-performance over long-term use. VAPOURISE will provide solutions by developing ground-breaking technologies for electricity generation (high-performance photovoltaics), storage (photoelectrochemical production of high-value chemicals) and use (quantum computing) based on scalable and modular perovskite semiconductors. These applications will be enabled by development of scalable vapour-based deposition methods to deposit epitaxial layers of 3D, 2D and 3D/2D halide perovskites, and low-temperature chalcogenide perovskites. Halide perovskite configurations will include multi-quantum-well stacks and functional spacer molecules imparting passivation of defects, optical activity and/or chirality. The development of these materials will be uniquely driven by fundamental understanding of properties through cutting-edge multi-modal operando toolkits and automated machine-learning driven analyses. These approaches will unveil unprecedented connections between the photophysical, chemical, structural and device performance/stability properties on different length (nanometre to centimetre) and time (femtosecond to months) scales, in turn guiding fabrication. This unique combination of controlled processing and fundamental understanding will allow VAPOURISE to generate highly stable, scalable, and efficient triple-junction photovoltaics (efficiency >35%), triple-junction photo-electrodes driving CO2 reduction to ethylene (>10%), and reliable electrically pumped single-photon emitter arrays. The ambitious, interdisciplinary programme will revolutionise semiconductor development in which science-led understanding rapidly drives device engineering, leading to disruptive breakthroughs in energy, photo-electrochemistry and quantum technologies.