Lead Halide Ultraviolet-Harvesting Transparent Photovoltaics with an Efficiency Exceeding 1%

Transparent photovoltaic (TPV) devices have a number of unique advantages compared with opaque photovoltaic devices. However, balancing efficiency and transparency has been difficult. To date, few TPV devices with PCE over 1% have been demonstrated when the average visible transmission (AVT) is over 70%. Here, we report a series of lead halide based TPVs with both increased efficiency and transparency. The effects of lead halide layer thickness and composition were systematically studied. Subsequently, the efficiency, transparency, and stability of lead halide TPVs were evaluated. Results show that lead halide TPVs with ultraviolet (UV) wavelength-selective absorption can achieve efficiencies over 1% while the AVT is above 70%. This study provides a simple approach to prepare UV-harvesting TPVs with high efficiency and high visible transparency that are potentially viable as single-junction cells or as a component of multijunction transparent and opaque cells.