Bifacial Color‐Tunable Transparent Photovoltaics for Application as Building‐Integrated Photovoltaics

Abstract

Transparent photovoltaics (TPVs) have attracted enormous attention due to their potential to be applied as building‐integrated photovoltaics (BIPV). Transparent and semitransparent photovoltaics have achieved a high level of efficiency, but there are still a number of issues that limit their application, such as their device size, lack of stability, and transmittance in the visible wavelength region. The excellent color implementation of a bifacial color‐tunable (BCT) TPV by tuning the indium tin oxide (ITO) thickness is demonstrated. The BCT TPV has a bifacial factor of 97.2% while maintaining an average visible transmittance (AVT) of 41.6%. The use of a 16 cm2 large‐scale TPV device using a dry plasma fabrication process is also demonstrated. This dry process enables large‐scale device production and ensures long‐term device stability. The efficiency improvement with various background colors (blue 14%, red 25%, and white 35%) without any additional installation on the device is also confirmed. The BCT TPV is a promising candidate for BIPV applications due to its wide range of color tunability and excellent double‐sided photovoltaic operation, even under an indoor artificial light.