AmbiFIRA‑Lab

AmbiFIRA‑LAB: Bringing FIRA to Your Research and Industry

What is FIRA?

Flash Infrared Annealing (FIRA) is a revolutionary photonic thermal process designed for the rapid crystallization and sintering of solution-processed thin films. Unlike conventional ovens that require minutes to hours and expose materials to high thermal budgets, FIRA operates in time windows ranging from 20 milliseconds to just a few seconds.

Within this ultrafast timeframe, wet precursors transform into highly ordered crystalline structures—without the need for toxic antisolvents. By leveraging high optical power, programmable pulse shapes, and selective heating, FIRA delivers films that are:

Smooth and compact, ideal for optoelectronic performance
Gentle on substrates, even flexible polymers
Environmentally friendly, reducing or eliminating solvent use

AmbiFIRA‑Lab device — AmbiFIRA‑Lab Device (laboratory platform for executing FIRA)

How AmbiFIRA works — How it works: IR pulses, 20 ms – 2 s, selective heating

How FIRA Works

At the core of FIRA lies infrared pulse heating. Conductive layers such as FTO substrates absorb IR light and rapidly transfer thermal energy into the film. By carefully adjusting pulse duration (20 ms – 2 s) and intensity, users can:

Control nucleation density and grain orientation
Tune microstructure and crystal quality
Drive phase evolution from intermediate to final perovskite states

This process is selective: inorganic layers absorb the IR energy while underlying temperature-sensitive polymers remain protected. The result is a gentle yet powerful method to build high-performance thin-film stacks that conventional thermal treatments cannot achieve.

Introducing AmbiFIRA‑Lab

To bring this groundbreaking method to the research community, AMBIMETRICS, through its Laboratory of Engineering and Electronic Instrumentation (LI2E) and in collaboration with leading universities, has developed the AmbiFIRA‑Lab system.

Precision – programmable recipes and repeatable results
Flexibility – compatible with rigid and flexible substrates
Reproducibility – integrated QA templates and data logging

It is more than an annealing tool. AmbiFIRA‑Lab is a research accelerator, enabling laboratories to explore new materials, optimize thin-film growth, and scale successful recipes from benchtop coupons to pilot-line modules.

Results of films processed with AmbiFIRA-Lab — Results: compact and smooth films with optoelectronic quality

Why AmbiFIRA‑Lab is Different

Unlike large, industrial annealing systems that are costly, complex, and designed only for mass production, AmbiFIRA‑Lab is compact, accessible, and engineered for research environments.

Ease of use: intuitive interface for defining pulse sequences and storing recipe libraries
Safety & sustainability: eliminates antisolvent steps and reduces total solvent load
Data integration: ready for in-situ monitoring and machine-learning-driven optimization
Scalable pathway: results obtained in AmbiFIRA‑Lab can be directly transferred to larger production systems

Industrial Adaptation: AmbiFIRA‑Scale

AMBIMETRICS is currently extending the platform with AmbiFIRA‑Scale, an industrial version of the technology. AmbiFIRA‑Scale is designed as an integration-ready module for wet-coating lines, such as slot-die, inkjet, and roll-to-roll processes.

Boost throughput with rapid annealing cycles
Preserve delicate substrates thanks to low thermal stress
Adopt sustainable manufacturing by removing hazardous antisolvents
Leverage predictive manufacturing via integration with machine learning

Competitive Edge

Ultra-fast processing: crystallization in < 2 seconds
Kinetic control: fine-tune grain size, phase evolution, and microstructure
Versatility: compatible with diverse substrates and coating methods
Sustainability: no toxic antisolvents, reduced solvent footprint
Industrial readiness: integration into continuous wet-coating lines

Applications

Perovskite solar cells – high efficiency, improved stability
Tandem photovoltaics – scalable top-layer processing for Si/perovskite stacks
Printed and flexible electronics – conductive inks, charge transport layers, sensors
Ceramic and inorganic films – selective sintering of high-temperature materials without damaging sensitive layers

Proceso general de FIRA — FIRA ramp: Temperature and Time effect

👉 AmbiFIRA‑Lab is your gateway to mastering FIRA in the lab. AmbiFIRA‑Scale is your bridge to industrial success.

Company

LI2E · Laboratory of Engineering and Electronic Instrumentation

We are a technology-based company with more than 30 years of experience in turnkey projects. Our track record is centered on R&D, with several patents and collaborations with universities and leading research centers. From LI2E we design and manufacture high-tech equipment for research, integrating electronics, control, sensing, and regulatory safety.

Custom instrumentation design and manufacturing
Hardware/software integration and field validation
Support for universities, research centers, and industrial companies

Key capabilities

Custom electronics and sensors · Test benches · Process control · In-situ QA · CE documentation.

LI2E is a department of AMBIMETRICS. If you want to know more about us, click here →

Real implementations

Success Cases

Good design and good ideas need good execution. LI2E knows how to execute high‑tech projects that solve real‑world problems.

UJI · Castellón

Lead-free (Sn) perovskites

Fast and stable recipes; mitigation of Sn(II)→Sn(IV).

UV · Valencia

Mini-modules with slot-die

FIRA module after coating; uniformity and in-line QA.

PV-Lab · Switzerland

Si/perovskite tandem

Top-layer crystallization without damaging silicon.

UJI · Lead‑free (Sn‑based) rapid crystallization

Universitat Jaume I (UJI), Castellón — Exploring lead‑free halide perovskites (Sn‑based) and validating rapid crystallization recipes that leverage FIRA’s short thermal budgets to mitigate Sn(II) oxidation and defect formation.

Ink & precursor design: optimize Sn‑based solutions and additives for flash‑compatible nucleation and grain growth.
Pulse engineering: map 20 ms–2 s profiles to control phase purity and microstructure on flexible/rigid substrates.
Atmosphere management: evaluate inert/N₂ processing windows to minimize Sn(II) → Sn(IV) conversion.
Characterization: in‑situ/operando hooks (IR/pyrometry, hyperspectral options) and ex‑situ QA (morphology, PL, IV).
Outcome: robust, reproducible recipes for lead‑free films suitable for device integration and short stability studies.

UV · HEPALEX: slot‑die integration for up‑scaled devices

Universitat de València (UV), Valencia — Within the HEPALEX project, integrating a FIRA module into a slot‑die wet‑coating line to manufacture up‑scaled devices (mini‑modules).

Mechanical & safety integration: mount FIRA after the wet‑coating/leveling stage with appropriate shielding and interlocks.
Recipe transfer: translate coupon‑level pulses to continuous‑web/plate processing (ms–s dwell, multi‑pulse strategies).
Throughput & uniformity: define moving‑substrate exposure maps and inline QA checkpoints for uniform microstructure.
Stacks & materials: validate charge‑transport layers and encapsulation compatible with flash heating on polymer foils.
Outcome: ready‑to‑run process set enabling repeatable up‑scaled devices and datasets for techno‑economic assessment.

Expected impact

Shorter development cycles from ink to device by decoupling drying, crystallization and passivation steps.
Improved safety and sustainability by avoiding anti‑solvent quenching and lowering total solvent use.
Pathway to industrialization via slot‑die/inkjet compatibility and low thermal stress on flexible substrates.

Next steps & coordination

Commissioning & training at UJI and UV; align SOPs and safety checklists.
Design of experiments (DoE) for pulse windows and uniformity on the respective lines.
Shared data model and versioned recipe library for cross‑site comparability.

PV‑Lab Neuchâtel · A3P: adapted FIRA for tandem solar cells

PV‑Lab Neuchâtel (Switzerland) — Within the A3P project, an adapted FIRA module is deployed downstream of a slot‑die coater to accelerate drying/crystallization of perovskite layers for tandem solar cells (Si/perovskite).

Mechanical & optical adaptation.
Thermal recipes: millisecond‑to‑seconds pulse sequences for solvent removal → nucleation → crystallization → passivation of perovskite absorbers and charge‑transport layers.
Interlayer compatibility: preserve polymeric interlayers and minimize thermal budget on underlying silicon devices.
Inline QA hooks: IR/pyrometric monitoring, optional reflectance/PL checkpoints; parameter logging for a digital‑twin‑ready dataset.
Throughput & uniformity: motion/exposure maps for mini‑modules and panels with edge‑to‑edge homogeneity.

Outcome: a line‑ready, repeatable process segment enabling high‑quality perovskite top cells for tandem stacks and yielding datasets to support A3P scale‑up and techno‑economic analysis.

Publications

Papers & Research

A curated selection of references related to perovskite processing, photonic annealing, and rapid thermal strategies:

Contact

Ready to integrate AmbiFIRA‑Lab or need a custom system?

Tell us about your case (R&D, pilot or production). We will prepare a proposal or demo according to your needs.

Or write us directly at sales@fira.ambimetrics.com

Ambimetrics · AmbiFIRA‑Lab

Made in Europe · Spain

Support for universities, research centers and industrial companies.