Longitudinal Through-Hole Architecture for Efficient and Thickness-Insensitive Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy Engineering
• Organic Electronics

Background:

• Semi-transparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) are promising for integrated energy harvesting.
• Current fabrication methods rely on ultrathin films, hindering industrial scalability.
• Achieving both high power conversion efficiency (PCE) and high average visible transmittance (AVT) simultaneously is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel architecture for ST-OSCs that eliminates the need for ultrathin films.
• To enhance PCE and AVT through a longitudinal through-hole design.
• To improve the manufacturability and flexibility of ST-OSCs.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of ST-OSCs utilizing a longitudinal through-hole architecture.
• Integration of a complete circuit corresponding to a silver grid for PCE.
• Modulation of transparency by adjusting through-hole specifications.

Main Results:

• Achieved excellent photovoltaic performance across a wide transparency range (9.80-60.03%) with PCEs from 6.04% to 15.34%.
• Demonstrated a record-breaking light utilization efficiency (LUE) of 3.25% for printable 300-nm-thick devices.
• Enhanced flexural endurance in flexible ST-OSCs by dispersing extrusion stress.

Conclusions:

• The longitudinal through-hole architecture enables high-performance ST-OSCs independent of ultrathin films.
• This approach significantly improves manufacturability and opens avenues for commercialization.
• The design offers a promising pathway for advanced organic photovoltaics in integrated energy solutions.