APL Nameplate
  • Volume/Page
  • Keyword
  • DOI
  • Citation
  • Advanced
   
 
 
 

Flickr Twitter UniPHY Group iResearch App Facebook

Applied Physics Letters / Volume 98 / Issue 11 / ORGANIC ELECTRONICS AND PHOTONICS
FREE

FULL-TEXT OPTIONS:

Appl. Phys. Lett. 98, 113305 (2011); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3567516 (3 pages)

Transparent, near-infrared organic photovoltaic solar cells for window and energy-scavenging applications

Richard R. Lunt1,2 and Vladimir Bulovic1

1Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
2Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA

View MapView Map

(Received 1 February 2011; accepted 23 February 2011; published online 17 March 2011)

We fabricate near-infrared absorbing organic photovoltaics that are highly transparent to visible light. By optimizing near-infrared optical-interference, we demonstrate power efficiencies of 1.3±0.1% with simultaneous average visible transmission of >65%. Subsequent incorporation of near-infrared distributed-Bragg-reflector mirrors leads to an increase in the efficiency to 1.7±0.1%, approaching the 2.4±0.2% efficiency of the opaque cell, while maintaining high visible-transparency of >55%. Finally, we demonstrate that a series-integrated array of these transparent cells is capable of powering electronic devices under near-ambient lighting. This architecture suggests strategies for high-efficiency power-generating windows and highlights an application uniquely benefiting from excitonic electronics.

© 2011 American Institute of Physics

RELATED DATABASES

Scopus

View This Record in Scopus

Web of Science

View this record in Web of Science

View Web of Science related articles

KEYWORDS and PACS

Keywords

distributed Bragg reflectors, energy harvesting, optical windows, solar cells, transparency

PACS

  • 88.40.jr

    Organic photovoltaics

  • 88.40.hj

    Efficiency and performance of solar cells

  • 78.20.Ci

    Optical constants (including refractive index, complex dielectric constant, absorption, reflection and transmission coefficients, emissivity)

  • 42.82.-m

    Integrated optics

  • 42.79.Bh

    Lenses, prisms and mirrors

  • 42.79.Ci

    Filters, zone plates, and polarizers

ARTICLE DATA

Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3567516

PUBLICATION DATA

ISSN

0003-6951 (print)  
1077-3118 (online)

Publisher

$abstract.society.value is a Member of CrossRef American Institute of Physics

  1. J. Kalowekamo and E. Baker, Sol. Energy 83, 1224 (2009). [Inspec]
  2. C. Tuchinda, S. Srivannaboon, and H. W. Lim, J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 54, 845 (2006). [MEDLINE]
  3. R. F. Bailey-Salzman, B. P. Rand, and S. R. Forrest, Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 233502 (2006)APPLAB000088000023233502000001.
  4. R. Koeppe, D. Hoeglinger, P. A. Troshin, R. N. Lyubovskaya, V. F. Razumov, and N. S. Sariciftci, ChemSusChem 2, 309 (2009). [MEDLINE]
  5. R. Kuhn, A. Boueke, A. Kress, P. Fath, G. P. Willeke, and E. Bucher, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 46, 2013 (1999). [Inspec]
  6. Q. F. Dong, Y. H. Zhou, J. N. Pei, Z. Y. Liu, Y. W. Li, S. Y. Yao, J. B. Zhang, and W. J. Tian, Org. Electron. 11, 1327 (2010).
  7. H. Schmidt, H. Flugge, T. Winkler, T. Bulow, T. Riedl, and W. Kowalsky, Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 243302 (2009)APPLAB000094000024243302000001.
  8. J. Meiss, K. Leo, M. K. Riede, C. Uhrich, W. -M. Gnehr, S. Sonntag, and M. Pfeiffer, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 213306 (2009)APPLAB000095000021213306000001.
  9. Here we define visible light as the region of spectrum where there is photopic response >0.5% of the peak response.
  10. A. Thelen, Design of Optical Interference Coatings (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1993).
  11. V. Shrotriya, G. Li, Y. Yao, T. Moriarty, K. Emery, and Y. Yang, Adv. Funct. Mater. 16, 2016 (2006).
  12. See supplementary material at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3567516 for solar simulator spectrum and a description of the full circuit assembly. [EPAPS]
  13. L. A. A. Pettersson, L. S. Roman, and O. Inganas, J. Appl. Phys. 86, 487 (1999)JAPIAU000086000001000487000001. [ISI]
  14. R. F. Bailey-Salzman, B. P. Rand, and S. R. Forrest, Appl. Phys. Lett. 91, 013508 (2007)APPLAB000091000001013508000001. [ISI]
  15. J. Meyer, A. Shu, M. Kroger, and A. Kahn, Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 133308 (2010)APPLAB000096000013133308000001.
  16. I. H. Campbell and B. K. Crone, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 263302 (2009)APPLAB000095000026263302000001.

View Scopus articles citing this one (6) Scopus Help

Figures (click on thumbnails to view enlargements)

FIG.1
(a) Schematic of the transparent photovoltaic architecture. The simple transparent structure without the NIR reflector (ITO-only) is highlighted with the bracket. (b) Imaginary part of the complex index of refraction, k, for the active layers with the molecular structures inset: the ClAlPc donor, C60 acceptor, and sputtered ITO (black line) cathode. (c) J-V curves measured under 0.8 sun illumination and (d) EQE for the control cell and for the transparent devices with the NIR reflector as a function of ITO cathode thickness.

FIG.1 Download High Resolution Image (.zip file) | Export Figure to PowerPoint

FIG.2
(a) Power conversion efficiency, ηp, (open diamonds), average visible transmission (open stars), (b) open circuit voltage (triangle symbols), fill-factor (square symbols), and short-circuit current (circle symbols) of the transparent devices as a function of ITO cathode thickness with (black symbols) and without (blue symbols) the DBR/BBAR mirror coatings. The control cell performance is included as x = 0 data (solid gray symbols). Dashed lines are guides to the eyes and solid lines are simulations.

FIG.2 Download High Resolution Image (.zip file) | Export Figure to PowerPoint

FIG.3
Transmission spectra of the transparent OPV devices for various ITO cathode thicknesses with, and without, the NIR reflector. The approximate visible photopic range is highlighted with vertical dashed-lines. The transmission curves for the assembled transparent OPV closely matches the transmission curve for the NIR mirror (see Ref. 12).

FIG.3 Download High Resolution Image (.zip file) | Export Figure to PowerPoint

FIG.4
(a) Picture of the “Teton mountains” displayed on an LCD screen (b) with the fully assembled transparent solar cell in front of the picture. In (a) the anode/active layer drawing is overlaid on the same picture and the orange boxes highlight the active layer area. (a) and (b) were taken side-by-side during the same exposure. (c) Picture of the series-integrated, transparent cell powering an LCD clock illuminated with ∼ 0.05 sun while allowing for high transparency. See Ref. 12.

FIG.4 Download High Resolution Image (.zip file) | Export Figure to PowerPoint

Supplemental Files (EPAPS)



Close

Google Calendar

ADVERTISEMENT

Your Recent History Recent History Help

Recently Viewed

  1. Transparent, near-infrared organic photovoltaic solar cells for window and energy-scavenging applications
  2. Thickness dependence of the MoO3 blocking layers on ZnO nanorod-inverted organic photovoltaic devices
  3. Circuit approach to the minimal configuration of terahertz anomalous extraordinary transmission
  4. Millimeter-wave generation via frequency multiplication in graphene
  5. A frequency-addressed plasmonic switch based on dual-frequency liquid crystals
Go to AIP Home
Copyright © American Institute of Physics
close