Visually Transparent and Scalable Cu(In,Ga)Se <sub>2</sub> Solar Cells Through Spatial Segmentation

Semi‐transparent photovoltaics aim to integrate power generation into building windows without compromising visual neutrality. Yet, most approaches achieve transparency by thinning the absorber layer, which reduces efficiency and leads to transmission of tinted light. Spatial segmentation provides an alternative where transparency is set by the aperture‐area ratio, while the full absorber thickness and its photovoltaic quality can be preserved. We implement this concept in Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 thin‐film solar cells using a bottom‐up approach that defines sub‐visible micro‐stripes prior to deposition and supports the efficient use of absorber material. To demonstrate scalability, we fabricate and characterise a semi‐transparent mini‐module with a series interconnection along the segmented stripes. The mini‐module has 40% average visible transmittance and achieves 10.9% active‐area efficiency, resulting in a light‐utilisation efficiency of 2.2%, while retaining a colour‐neutral appearance. These results show that geometric segmentation can translate full‐thickness thin‐film absorbers into viable, visually non‐obtrusive photovoltaic windows, offering a practical route towards high‐performance building‐integrated photovoltaics.

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Publication Details

Journal
Solar RRL
Published
2026-04-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.70347
Primary Topic
Chalcogenide Semiconductor Thin Films
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Visually Transparent and Scalable Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 Solar Cells Through Spatial Segmentation

Rico Gutzler, Phillip J. Dale, Sascha Sadewasser, Wolfram Witte et al.
Solar RRL
Chalcogenide Semiconductor Thin Films
article

Visually Transparent and Scalable Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 Solar Cells Through Spatial Segmentation

Rico Gutzler, Phillip J. Dale, Sascha Sadewasser, Wolfram Witte, Pedro Anacleto, Shilpi Shital, Pedro Santos, Juliana Noronha Fonseca, Nuno Rodrigues
article en

Abstract

Semi‐transparent photovoltaics aim to integrate power generation into building windows without compromising visual neutrality. Yet, most approaches achieve transparency by thinning the absorber layer, which reduces efficiency and leads to transmission of tinted light. Spatial segmentation provides an alternative where transparency is set by the aperture‐area ratio, while the full absorber thickness and its photovoltaic quality can be preserved. We implement this concept in Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 thin‐film solar cells using a bottom‐up approach that defines sub‐visible micro‐stripes prior to deposition and supports the efficient use of absorber material. To demonstrate scalability, we fabricate and characterise a semi‐transparent mini‐module with a series interconnection along the segmented stripes. The mini‐module has 40% average visible transmittance and achieves 10.9% active‐area efficiency, resulting in a light‐utilisation efficiency of 2.2%, while retaining a colour‐neutral appearance. These results show that geometric segmentation can translate full‐thickness thin‐film absorbers into viable, visually non‐obtrusive photovoltaic windows, offering a practical route towards high‐performance building‐integrated photovoltaics.

Solar RRLVol. 10(8)
University of Luxembourg (LU), Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (DE), International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (PT)
European Commission
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 13%
Chalcogenide Semiconductor Thin Films
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