Balancing efficiency and transparency in organic transparent photovoltaics

Abstract

The challenges in transparent photovoltaic (TPV) fields are still that the device transparency and efficiency are difficult to be balanced to meet the requirements of practical applications. In this study, we systematically investigated the interrelationship between photovoltaic film properties, optical transmission, and photovoltaic performances in the near-infrared harvesting organic TPVs. The results indicate that the photovoltaic film thickness determines the TPV’s transparency and meanwhile affects the device efficiency; by contrast, the donor–acceptor ratio only affects device efficiency and has little effect on transparency. By controlling the film thickness and donor–acceptor ratio, the average visible transmission (AVT) of TPVs can be precisely managed in the range of 40% - 85%, and the device efficiency can achieve as high as 4.06% and 2.38% while the AVT exceeds 70% and 80%, respectively. Importantly, the large area (~10 cm2) TPV modules and ultra-flexible devices were then successfully prepared based on the systematical study.

Improving morphology and optoelectronic properties of ultra-wide bandgap perovskite via Cs tuning for clear solar cell and UV detection applications

“…The transparency of the solar cells depends on the thickness and the film coverage of the active layer. However, the balance between transparency and photovoltaics performance of the solar cells is needed 65 , 66 . The active perovskite layer is prepared as an ultra-thin layer to control the visible light absorption 67 .…”

“…The average visible transmittance (AVT) is the common way of deciding whether the material is acceptable to be used as the transparent solar films 68 . We used the following equation to calculate the AVT from transmittance spectra, where λ is the wavelength, P(λ) is photopic response for human eyes at λ, S(λ) is solar flux (AM1.5G) at λ, and T(λ) is the transmittance at λ 66 . …”

Versatile organic photovoltaics with a power density of nearly 40 W g−1

“…31 Prominently, building OPVs on ultra-thin substrates is a very effective route to broaden the applications of OPVs, since the total thickness of less than 10 mm can grant the devices with ultra-flexible and ultra-lightweight characteristics to meet the requirements of different scenarios and even some extreme environments. 23,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47] For example, ultra-thin OPVs (also known as ultra-flexible OPVs) can conglutinate to the surface of any shape, in favor of integration into the internet of things. 42 In addition, their uses in the fields of aeronautics and astronautics are also imagined.…”

Improving Photosensitivity and Transparency in Organic Phototransistor with Blending Insulating Polymers

“…However, systems that detect light in the visible range are not transparent to the human eye, thus transparency and photodetector performance are inevitably in conflict. Detection systems that employ UV and IR can avoid this problem, but they cannot be employed in VLC systems that utilize light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a light source and are not suitable for organic electronics fabricated via low-temperature, large-area processing for the detection of visible light [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Research has thus been conducted on devices that combine fine-grained inorganic materials such as nanoparticles or quantum dots with highly transparent oxide semiconductors [ 6 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ], while the development of extremely thin semiconductor layers could also facilitate the fabrication of highly transparent visible-light phototransistors.…”

“…Research has thus been conducted on devices that combine fine-grained inorganic materials such as nanoparticles or quantum dots with highly transparent oxide semiconductors [ 6 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ], while the development of extremely thin semiconductor layers could also facilitate the fabrication of highly transparent visible-light phototransistors. However, excessively thin active layers tend to exhibit a poor drain current (I D ) due to low carrier mobility (μ) and surface non-uniformity [ 10 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”