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Selenium Solar Cells for Semi-Transparent Photovoltaics: Capped Annealing Protocols for Ultra-Thin Devices
Arnau Torrens1,2, Oriol Segura-Blanch1,2, Ivan Caño1,2,3
1Photovoltaic Lab - Micro and Nano Technologies Group (MNT), Electronic Engineering Department, EEBE, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Av Eduard Maristany 10-14, Barcelona, Catalonia08019, Spain.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|August 9, 2026
Summary
Optimizing annealing protocols for selenium (Se) solar cells enhances crystallization and morphology. This study achieved 5.6% power conversion efficiency and demonstrated potential for semi-transparent devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Renewable Energy
- Semiconductor Physics
Background:
- Selenium (Se) solar cells offer potential for low-cost photovoltaic applications.
- Controlling material properties through annealing is crucial for device performance.
- Investigating semi-transparent solar cells is key for emerging applications like building-integrated photovoltaics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of different annealing protocols on selenium solar cell properties.
- To explore the feasibility of creating semi-transparent selenium solar cells.
- To correlate structural and morphological changes with photovoltaic performance.
Main Methods:
- Structural characterization using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
- Fabrication and testing of selenium solar cells with varying annealing conditions.
- Optical modeling to understand the relationship between material structure and optical properties.
Main Results:
- Uncapped annealing improved interfacial order and grain size, while capped annealing resulted in smoother morphologies.
- The highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.6% was achieved when the entire device was annealed.
- Thinner absorber layers enabled semi-transparent devices with up to 40% photopic visible transmittance and over 1% light utilization efficiency.
Conclusions:
- Annealing protocols significantly influence the crystallization, morphology, and performance of selenium solar cells.
- Selenium technology shows promise for semi-transparent applications due to tunable optical properties.
- Optimized annealing conditions create a nanostructured Se layer with intermediate optical constants, ideal for semi-transparency.
