Flexible and transparent thin-film silicon solar cells were fabricated and optimized for building-integrated photovoltaics and bifacial operation. A laser lift-off method was developed to avoid thermal damage during the transfer of light-scattering structures onto colorless polyimide substrates and thus enhance front-incidence photocurrent, while a dual n-type rear window layer was introduced to reduce optical losses, facilitate electron transport for rear incidence, and thus enhance performance during bifacial operation. The introduction of the window layer increased the rear-to-front power conversion efficiency ratio to ~86%. The optimized bifacial power conversion efficiency for front and rear irradiances of 1 and 0.3 sun, respectively, equaled 6.15%, and the average transmittance within 500–800 nm equaled 36.9%. Additionally, the flexible and transparent solar cells fabricated using laser lift-off exhibited good mechanical reliability (i.e., sustained 500 cycles at a bending radius of 6 mm) and were therefore suitable for building-integrated photovoltaics.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.