Parasitic absorption in transparent electrodes is one of the main roadblocks to enable power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) for perovskite-based tandem solar cells beyond 30%. To reduce such losses and maximize light coupling, the broadband transparency of such electrodes should be improved, especially at the front of the device. Here, we show the excellent properties of Zr-doped indium oxide (IZRO) transparent electrodes for such applications, with improved near-infrared (NIR) response, compared to conventional In-doped tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. Optimized IZRO films feature a very high electron mobility (up to ~77 cm 2 /V•s), enabling highly infrared transparent films with very low sheet resistance (~18 for annealed 100 nm films). For devices, this translates in a parasitic absorption of only ~5% for IZRO within the solar spectrum (250-2500 nm range), to be compared with ~10% for commercial ITO. Fundamentally, we find that the high conductivity of annealed IZRO films is directly linked to promoted crystallinity of the indium oxide (In2O3) films due to Zr-doping. Overall, on four-terminal perovskite/silicon tandem device level, we obtained an absolute 3.5

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The presence of a nonoptically active polymorph (yellow‐phase) competing with the optically active polymorph (black γ‐phase) at room temperature in cesium tin iodide (CsSnI3) and the susceptibility of Sn to oxidation represent two of the biggest obstacles for the exploitation of CsSnI3 in optoelectronic devices. Here room‐temperature single‐source in vacuum deposition of smooth black γ −CsSnI3 thin films is reported. This is done by fabricating a solid target by completely solvent‐free mixing of CsI and SnI2 powders and isostatic pressing. By controlled laser ablation of the solid target on an arbitrary substrate at room temperature, the formation of CsSnI3 thin films with optimal optical properties is demonstrated. The films present a bandgap of 1.32 eV, a sharp absorption edge, and near‐infrared photoluminescence emission. These properties and X‐ray diffraction of the thin films confirm the formation of the orthorhombic (B‐γ ) perovskite phase. The thermal stability of the phase is ensured by applying in situ an Al2O3 capping layer. This work demonstrates the potential of pulsed laser deposition as a volatility‐insensitive single‐source growth technique of halide perovskites and represents a critical step forward in the development and future scalability of inorganic lead‐free halide perovskites.

Sputtered transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) are widely accepted transparent electrodes for several types of high‐efficiency solar cells. However, the different sputtering yield of atoms makes stoichiometric transfer of target material challenging for multi‐compounds. Additionally, the high kinetic energies of the arriving species may damage sensitive functional layers beneath. Conversely, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is operated at higher deposition pressures promoting thermalization of particles. This leads to stoichiometric transfer and additionally reduces the kinetic energy of ablated species. Despite these advantages, PLD is rarely used within the photovoltaic community due to concerns about low deposition rates and the scalability of the technique. In this study, wafer‐scale (4‐inch) PLD of high‐mobility Zr‐doped In2O3 (IZrO) TCO for solar cells is demonstrated. IZrO films are grown at room temperature with deposition rate on par with RF‐sputtering (>4 nm min−1). As‐deposited IZrO films are mostly amorphous and exhibit excellent optoelectronic properties after solid phase crystallization at <200 °C. 100‐nm thick films feature a sheet resistance of 21 Ω◻−1 with electron mobilities ≈70 cm2 V−1s−1. PLD‐grown IZrO is applied as rear electrode in efficient semi‐transparent halide perovskite solar cells leading to the improved stabilized maximum power point efficiency (15.1%) as compared to the cells with sputtered ITO electrodes (11.9%).

Co-axial electrospinning was applied for the structuring of non-woven webs of TiO 2 nanofibers loaded with Ag, Au, and CuO nanoparticles. The composite layers were tested in an electrochromic half-cell assembly. A clear correlation between the nanoparticle composition and electrochromic effect in the nanofibrous composite is observed: TiO 2 loaded with Ag reveals a black-brown color, Au shows a dark-blue color, and CuO shows a dark-green color. For electrochromic applications, the Au/TiO 2 layer is the most promising choice, with a color modulation time of 6 s, transmittance modulation of 40%, coloration efficiency of 20 cm 2 /C, areal capacitance of 300 F/cm 2 , and cyclic stability of over 1000 cycles in an 18 h period. In this study, an unexplored path for the rational design of TiO 2 -based electrochromic device is offered with unique color-switching and optical efficiency gained by the fibrous layer. It is also foreseen that co-axial electrospinning can be an alternative nanofabrication technique for smart colored windows.