23© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024
L. Chen (ed.), Advances in Clean Energy Systems and Technologies, Green Energy
and Technology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49787-2_3
In−uence ofχAbsorber Layer Thickness
and Band Gap Tuning on the Optical
and Electrical Properties
of Semi-transparent Flexible Perovskite
Solar Cells
Muhammad Noman , Adnan Daud Khan , and Shayan Tariq Jan
1 Introduction
With the advancement of technology, the demand for smart applications has also
rapidly increased. One such application which is catching the attention of people are
the semi-transparent windows used in building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) tech-
nologies [1]. The smart windows not only allow a portion of the visible light to pass
through for illuminating the room, but also harness the photons of the remaining
light spectrum to produce electricity [2]. Thus, it provides dual functions. Obtaining
high power conversion ef−ciency (PCE) with transparency simultaneously is one of
the biggest challenges faced by this technology. This is due to the trade-off between
ef−ciency and transparency in absorbing the sunlight spectrum [3].
Multiple materials have been tested as the photovoltaic (PV) material in these
windows with different success rates. Some of the most promising results have been
obtained with perovskite solar cells (PSC) because of its high absorption coef−cient
(5.7 × 10
4
cm
−1
at 600 nm), good PCE (more than 20%), tunable band gap (1.3–2.2
eV), and fast carrier mobility (1–10 cm
2
V
−1
s
−1
) [1, 2, 4, 5]. These outstanding char-
acteristics make them an excellent contender to be considered for BIPV.
Two of the most feasible methods used to increase the transparency of the PV
cell with acceptable PCE are (i) reducing the thickness of the PSC and (ii) tuning
the band gap of the perovskite material [3, 6]. Both of these methods decrease the
absorption of the light spectrum in the PSC, thus increasing the transparency. But
the drawback is that lesser photons are absorbed, leading to lower PCE [4].
M. Noman (*) · A. D. Khan · S. T. Jan
U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy,
University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar, Pakistan
e-mail:
[email protected]