Figure-of-merit for Semi-transparent Solar Cells

TL;DR

This paper introduces a figure-of-merit (FoM) for semi-transparent solar cells that quantifies their performance by balancing efficiency and transparency, aiding comparison and development.

Contribution

A novel FoM is proposed to evaluate and compare semi-transparent solar cells based on efficiency, bifaciality, and transmittance, facilitating research and development.

Findings

FoM correlates with tandem and building-integrated PV applications.

Comparison of various device architectures using the proposed FoM.

FoM serves as a guiding tool for future ST-SC development.

Abstract

Semi-transparent Solar Cells (ST-SCs) has emerged as one of the most prominent energy harvesting technology that combines the benefits of light transparency and light-to-electricity conversion. The biggest opportunities for such technologies lie in their integration as windows and skylights within energy-sustainable buildings or combining them with other solar cell technologies in tandem configuration. The performance of ST-SCs is mainly determined by the trade-off between the competing parameters of the capability to convert the incident light into electricity while allowing some parts to transmit providing transparency through the device. Depending on the target application, the selection of ST-SCs is a tricky affair as some devices might offer high efficiency but compromises transparency and vice-versa. On the other way around, this is again not helped by the fact that due to advancements in materials engineering, processing, and characterization, a vastly different combination of efficiency and transparency has been reported by research groups. So, in order to quantify the performance of ST-SCs, we proposed, a figure-of-merit (FoM) which can be used as a tool that can help in analysing and comparing the performance among various ST-SCs. The defined FoM focuses on the power conversion efficiency of the device, bifaciality factor, transmittance in the desired region, and that corresponding to 550 nm wavelength. Additionally, in this work, we have been shown how the proposed FoM can be correlated for tandem and building-integrated photovoltaics applications. Based on these resultant parameters, FoM is calculated and compared for different device architectures available in the literature. The proposed FoM shall serve as a meaningful guiding path to the researchers for the development of advanced ST-SCs.