Multifunctional AZO/Ag(O)‐Based Transparent Conductor for Flexible and Transparent Optoelectronics

Abstract

Transparent photovoltaics (TPVs) generate electric power by selectively harvesting ultraviolet and/or near‐infrared light. If integrated with electronic products, TPV can sustainably power the products without affecting the user experience. Future electronics require flexibility and lightweight, hence the integrated TPV should also be flexible. To achieve this, a flexible, transparent conducting platform is desirable. A binary transparent conductor (TC) based on Ag(O) has been studied for flexible TPV. The oxygen‐induced Ag growth provides better Ag wettability, enabling a low sheet resistance of 12.5 Ω sq−1 at an Ag thickness of 6.5 nm. The AZO/Ag(O) binary structure, with an average visible transmittance value of 86%, has a figure of merit of 17.7 (10−3 Ω−1), which surpasses conventional TCs such as fluorine‐doped tin oxide and indium‐doped tin oxide . Furthermore, the multilayer design of Ag(O)‐based TC allows interfacial engineering to enhance the performance of TPV. The optimum photovoltaic performance of NiO/ZnO TPV is achieved with an AZO thickness of 12 nm, providing a performance enhancement of 700%. The NiO/ZnO/AZO/Ag(O) device exhibits a stable photovoltaic effect with a consistent open‐circuit voltage value of 0.4 V after numerous bending cycles with a bending radius of 0.7 cm.