A method of making a perovskite layer includes providing a flexible substrate; providing a perovskite solution comprising an initial amount of solvent and perovskite precursor materials and a total solids concentration between 30 percent and 70 percent by weight of its saturation concentration; depositing the perovskite solution on the substrate; removing a first portion of the solvent from the deposited perovskite solution and increasing the total solids concentration of the perovskite solution to at least 75 percent of its saturation concentration with a first drying step; and removing a second portion of the solvent from the deposited perovskite solution with a second drying step having a higher rate of solvent evaporation that causes saturation and a conversion reaction in the deposited perovskite solution resulting in perovskite crystal formation or formation of a perovskite intermediate phase, wherein the first drying step dwell time is at least 5 times longer than the second drying step dwell time. A continuous inline method for production of photovoltaic devices at high speed, and a perovskite solution for use in making a uniform Perovskite layer at high speed to enable low cost production of high efficiency Perovskite devices are also described.

Disubstituted diaryloxybenzoheterodiazole compound of general formula (I):

##STR00001##

in which: Z represents a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, a selenium atom; or an NR.sub.5 group in which R.sub.5 is selected from linear or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.20, or from optionally substituted aryl groups; R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 are as defined in the claims. The disubstituted diaryloxybenzoheterodiazole compound of general formula (I) can advantageously be used as a spectrum converter in luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) which are in turn capable of improving the performance of photovoltaic devices (or solar devices) selected, for example, from photovoltaic cells (or solar cells), photovoltaic modules (or solar modules) on either a rigid substrate or a flexible substrate.

Disubstituted diaryloxybenzoheterodiazole compound having general formula (I) or (II) and luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) including the same: ##STR00001##
wherein: Z represents a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom, a selenium atom; or an NR.sub.6 group wherein R.sub.6 is selected from linear or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.20 alkyl groups, or from optionally substituted aryl groups; R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3, identical or different, represent a hydrogen atom; or are selected from linear or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.20 alkyl groups optionally containing heteroatoms, optionally substituted cycloalkyl groups, optionally substituted aryl groups, optionally substituted linear or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.20 alkoxy groups, optionally substituted phenoxy groups, or a cyano group; or R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, may optionally be bound together to form, together with the carbon atoms to which they are bound, a saturated, unsaturated or aromatic, cyclic or polycyclic system containing from 3 to 14 carbon atoms, optionally containing one or more heteroatoms; or R.sub.2 and R.sub.3, may optionally be bound together so as to form, together with the carbon atoms to which they are bound, a saturated, unsaturated or aromatic, cyclic or polycyclic system containing from 3 to 14 carbon atoms, optionally containing one or more heteroatoms; R.sub.4, identical or different, represent a hydrogen atom; or are selected from linear or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.20 alkyl groups; R.sub.5, identical or different, are selected from linear or branched C.sub.1-C.sub.20 alkyl groups, optionally containing heteroatoms, or optionally substituted cycloalkyl groups; n and m, identical or different, are 0 or 1, provided that at least one of n and m is 1.

The present invention provides a method of forming a crystalline or polycrystalline layer of an organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite material comprising a three-dimensional crystal structure represented by the formula AMX .sub.3, in which A represents an organic cation or a mixture of two or more different cations, at least one of which is an organic cation, M represents a divalent metal cation or a mixture of two or more different divalent metal cations, and X represents halide anions which are the same or different, the method comprising the steps of: (i) forming a first layer on the surface of a substrate, the first layer comprising an organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite material having a planar, layered two-dimensional crystal structure (ii) reacting the first layer with one or more organic halides to form the crystalline or polycrystalline layer comprising an organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite material having the formula AMX .sub.3. Also provided is an optoelectronic or photovoltaic device including an active layer comprising an organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite material comprising a three-dimensional crystal structure represented by the formula AMX .sub.3, wherein the material is obtainable using the above defined method.

A detection device includes a substrate, a plurality of detection electrodes arranged in a detection area of the substrate, an organic semiconductor layer that covers the detection electrodes, and a counter electrode provided above the organic semiconductor layer. The organic semiconductor layer includes at least either of a first p-type semiconductor layer and a first n-type semiconductor layer, and an active layer. The active layer is provided in each overlapping area overlapping a corresponding one of the detection electrodes, and has a structure in which a p-type semiconductor area and an n-type semiconductor area are mixed and coexist. The first p-type semiconductor layer or the first n-type semiconductor layer is provided in a non-overlapping area not overlapping the detection electrode, and is provided between the adjacent active layers.

Provided is a perovskite solar cell, and more particularly, a perovskite solar cell including an organometal halide layer having a perovskite structure; and a crystalline material layer stacked while forming an interface with the organometal halide layer, wherein a crystalline material of the crystalline material layer is a crystalline halide having a crystal structure different from the perovskite structure, and the crystalline halide has a band gap energy higher than a band gap energy of an organometal halide of the organometal halide layer, and has a valence band maximum energy level lower than a valence band maximum energy level of the organometal halide.

Methods are provided for making halide perovskite thin films. The method may include forming a pattern of islands of a nucleation promoter material onto a substrate; applying onto the substrate and islands a solution which includes a halide perovskite or precursors thereof, to form a coated substrate; and drying the coated substrate to form a crystalline halide perovskite film. Halide perovskite thin films, which may be made by these methods, and LEDs including these films are also provided.

Electrochemical cells that include composite gel positioned between the first electrode and second electrode, where the composite gel comprises an electrolyte, a polyaryl amine, and an oxidant. The utilized composite gels are easy to produce at a low-cost, which makes them suitable in a number of different applications electrochromic devices, supercapacitors, solar cells, and hybrid photoactive supercapacitors.

An optical sensor includes a substrate, a photoelectric conversion layer, a first electrode, and a second electrode. The photoelectric conversion layer has a first surface facing the substrate, a second surface located opposite the first surface, and at least one side surface connecting the first surface with the second surface. The photoelectric conversion layer is supported by the substrate. The first electrode includes a first portion and a second portion separated from the first portion. The second portion is closer to the second surface than the first portion is. The first electrode is provided on the at least one side surface. The second electrode is provided on the at least one side surface.

An organic compound represented by general formula (1) is a novel organic compound having an absorption band in the near infrared region, and is useful for infrared absorbing dyes, optical films, and organic electronic devices such as photoelectric conversion elements, wherein R.sup.1 to R.sup.18 each independently represent a hydrogen atom, an aryl group, a heteroaryl group, an alkyl group, a cycloalkyl group, a halogen atom, a hydroxy group, an alkoxy group, a mercapto group, an alkylthio group, a nitro group, a substituted amino group, an amide group, an acyl group, a carboxyl group, an acyloxy group, a cyano group, a sulfo group, a sulfamoyl group, an alkylsulfamoyl group, a carbamoyl group, or an alkylcarbamoyl group; and X represents a substituted or unsubstituted methine group, a silylidyne group, a germylidyne group, a stannylidyne group, a nitrogen atom, a phosphorus atom, an arsenic atom, or an antimony atom. ##STR00001##