Photovoltaic devices with integrated color interferometric film stacks
First Claim
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1. A photovoltaic device for a solar panel, the device comprising:
- a photovoltaic active material; and
a static interferometric stack comprising a plurality of distinct layers covering a first side of the photovoltaic active material, wherein the interferometric stack is configured to interferometrically reflect visible wavelengths to produce a dominant reflectance peak having a narrow band of enhanced reflections about the peak and relatively depressing all visible wavelengths outside the narrow band such that the dominant reflectance peak predominantly determines a color apparent to a viewer normal to the first side, wherein the plurality of distinct layers of the interferometric stack comprise an absorber and an optical resonant cavity.
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Abstract
Color photovoltaic (PV) devices formed using interferometric stacks tuned to reflect color covering the front side or back side of a PV cell, device, panel, or array are disclosed. Interferometric stacks covering PV devices include interferometric modulators (IMODs), or dichroic pair stacks. Such devices can be configured to reflect enough light of select wavelengths so as to impart a color, while transmitting enough light to the PV active material so as to generate useful electricity.
448 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A photovoltaic device for a solar panel, the device comprising:
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a photovoltaic active material; and a static interferometric stack comprising a plurality of distinct layers covering a first side of the photovoltaic active material, wherein the interferometric stack is configured to interferometrically reflect visible wavelengths to produce a dominant reflectance peak having a narrow band of enhanced reflections about the peak and relatively depressing all visible wavelengths outside the narrow band such that the dominant reflectance peak predominantly determines a color apparent to a viewer normal to the first side, wherein the plurality of distinct layers of the interferometric stack comprise an absorber and an optical resonant cavity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 30, 31)
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20. A photovoltaic device for a solar panel, the device comprising:
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two or more regions, each region comprising; a photovoltaic active material; and a static interferometric stack comprising an absorber and an optical thin film defining an optical resonant cavity over the photovoltaic active material, the static interferometric stack covering a first side of the photovoltaic active material, wherein the interferometric stack is configured to interferometrically reflect visible wavelengths to produce a dominant reflectance peak having a narrow band of enhanced reflections about the peak and relatively depressing all visible wavelengths outside the narrow band such that the dominant reflectance peak predominantly determines a color apparent to a viewer normal to the first side; wherein the optical thin films of the two or more regions are patterned such that each region has a different optical thin film height producing a different dominant reflectance peak predominantly determining a different color apparent to the viewer normal to the first side. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. A photovoltaic device for a solar panel, the device comprising:
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a photovoltaic active layer; and a static interferometric modulator over a first side of the photovoltaic active material, wherein the interferometric stack is configured to interferometrically tune reflections to produce a dominant reflectance peak having a narrow band of enhanced reflections about the peak and relatively depressing all visible wavelengths outside the narrow band such that the dominant reflectance peak predominantly determines a color apparent to a viewer normal to the first side, the interferometric modulator comprising; one or more optically transparent layers forming an optical resonant cavity over the photovoltaic active layer; and an absorber layer over the optical resonant cavity, wherein the optical resonant cavity has a thickness that is between about 10 nm to about 3000 nm and the absorber layer has a thickness that is between about 20 Å
to about 300 Å
. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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27. A photovoltaic device for a solar panel, the device comprising:
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means for generating an electrical current from incident light having a first side; and a thin film stack for interferometrically reflecting visible wavelengths to produce a dominant reflectance peak having a narrow band of enhanced reflections about the peak and relatively depressing all visible wavelengths outside the narrow band such that the dominant reflectance peak predominantly determines a color apparent to a viewer normal to the first side, wherein the thin film stack includes an optical resonant cavity and an absorber over the first side of the means for generating the electrical current. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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Specification