Development of a high performance laminated transparent top-electrode for emerging thin-film photovoltaics

光伏（PV）设备将阳光直接转化为电能，因此随着人类向低碳未来过渡，未来几十年将在全球可再生能源领域发挥重要作用。今天的光伏是基于传统的半导体，这是相对能源密集型的生产，并在很大程度上限于刚性平板设计。因此，可以通过在低温下印刷到柔性基底上来制造的PV对于建筑和运输中的广泛应用是有吸引力的，其中柔性、颜色调谐、重量轻和成本低是基本要求。两种新兴的PV技术具有满足这些要求的强大潜力，即有机PV和钙钛矿PV。然而，人们普遍认为，如果合适的透明柔性电极即将到来，这些类别的PV只能实现其相对于传统薄膜PV的全部成本优势和功能优势。氧化铟锡（ITO）目前是光电子器件（包括PV）中使用的主要透明导体。然而，其脆弱的陶瓷性质使其与柔性基板的兼容性较差，并且由于未来10年预计供应短缺的高风险，铟已被确定为欧洲经济区的“关键原材料”。因此，通常需要开发ITO和导电氧化物电极的可行替代品，特别是用于PV中的用途，其中在未来几十年中将需要大量以帮助解决全球变暖造成的威胁。该提案试图通过开发基于铜网格的高性能透明电极来解决这一挑战，该铜网格可以通过简单的层压与PV器件的其余部分集成。这种方法避免了当使用直接在器件的其余部分的顶部上制造透明电极的常规方法时出现的电极透明度和导电性的不可避免的折衷。将探索使用低成本可持续材料和工艺制造这种电极的两种非常规方法。这些输出具有变革OPV和PPV以及许多其他需要透明顶部电极的光电器件的潜力。英国是下一代PV材料和工艺开发的全球领导者，因此拟议研究的成果具有直接提高英国在这一日益重要的领域的经济竞争力的强大潜力，并将有助于解决由于全球变暖而导致的气候变化的严峻挑战。

Photovoltaic (PV) devices convert sunlight directly into electricity and so are set to play a major role in the global renewable energy landscape in the coming decades as humanity transitions to a low carbon future. Today's PVs are based on conventional semiconductors which are relatively energy-intensive to produce and largely restricted to rigid flat plate designs. Consequently, PVs that can be fabricated by printing at low temperature onto flexible substrates are attractive for a broad range of applications in buildings and transportation, where flexibility, colour-tuneability, light-weight and low cost are essential requirements. Two emerging PV technologies that have strong potential to meet these requirements are organic PVs and perovskite PVs. It is however widely recognised that these classes of PV can only fulfill their full cost-advantage and functional advantages over conventional thin film PVs if a suitable transparent, flexible electrode is forthcoming. Indium-tin oxide (ITO) is currently the dominant transparent conductor used in opto-electronics, including PVs. However, its fragile ceramic nature makes it poorly compatible with flexible substrates and indium has been identified as a 'critical raw material' for the European economic area, due to the high risk of supply shortages expected in the next 10 years. Consequently there is a need to develop a viable alternative to ITO and conducting oxide electrodes in general, particularly for utility in PVs where large quantities will be needed in the coming decades to help address the threat posed by global warming. This proposal seeks to address this challenge by developing a high performance transparent electrode based on a copper grid that can be integrated with the rest of the PV device by simple lamination. This approach avoids the inevitable compromises in electrode transparency and conductivity that arise when using the conventional approach of fabricating the transparent electrode directly on top of the rest of device. Two unconventional approaches to fabricating this electrode using low cost sustainable materials and processes will be explored. The outputs have the potential to be transformative for the advancement of OPV and PPV, as well numerous other optoelectronic devices requiring a transparent top-electrode. The UK is a global leader in the development of materials and processes for next generation PVs and so the outputs of the proposed research has strong potential to directly increase the economic competitiveness of the UK in this increasingly important sector and will help to address the now time critical challenge of climate change due to global warming.