Vapor-Deposited Perovskites: The Route to High-Performance Solar Cell Production?

High-quality semiconducting perovskites can be easily synthesized through several methods. The ease of fabrication has favored the adoption of lab-scale solution-processing techniques, which have yielded the highest performing devices. Most of these processes, however, are not directly applicable to larger scale and volume preparations, hindering the consolidation and market entry of this technology. Vapor-based methods, a mature technology widely adopted in the coating and semiconductor industry, could change this trend. Their application to perovskite solar cells includes a large amount of fabrication approaches, offering versatility in the employed materials as well as in the characteristics of the resulting perovskite films. It is thus essential to review the fundamentals of perovskite vapor-related techniques in order to put their real potential and challenges into perspective.