Engaging Solar Cells: Colorful, Transparent, Efficient

• Research team succeeds in creating world's first transparent thin-film solar cell on flexible substrate with reflective colors, maintaining cell efficiency. Multi-layer thin film reduces the reflection loss in visible light, making solar cells with varied colors & excellent efficiency at a reasonable cost. Can be used in image sensors, photolithography masks, and infrared shielding fields. Research team actively pursues solar modules with esthetic & functional BIPV elements.

The research team has succeeded in creating the world's first transparent thin-film solar cell on a flexible substrate with various reflective colors without significantly reducing solar cell efficiency. By regularly adding hydrogen to zinc oxide material doped with aluminum, a transparent electrode with a single material is produced. The reflection loss in the visible light area absorbed by the solar cell device was reduced by creating a multi-layer thin film with an incredibly low refractive index difference of less than 5%. This technology can be used to create thin-film solar cells with varied colors and excellent efficiency at a reasonable cost. It can also be used in a variety of fields, including image sensors, photolithography masks, and infrared shielding. The research team is actively pursuing research to create solar modules that express color while taking into account both the esthetic and functional elements of BIPV.

Can Transparent Thin-Film Solar Cells be Produced with Color?

• This research paper is the first to explore the possibility of producing transparent thin-film solar cells with various colors without significantly reducing the device’s efficiency.
• The team has successfully created a thin-film solar cell on a flexible substrate with different reflective colors by adding hydrogen to a zinc oxide material doped with aluminum.
• The reflection loss in the visible light area absorbed by the solar cell device was reduced via a multi-layer thin film with a refractive index difference of less than 5%.
• The technology can be used to create solar cells with varied colors and excellent efficiency at a reasonable cost, which can be used in a variety of applications such as image sensors, photolithography masks, and infrared shielding.
• The research team is actively researching the development of solar panel modules that express color while taking into account both the aesthetic and functional elements of BIPV.