Journal of Sensor Science and Technology (센서학회지)

The Korean Sensors Society (한국센서학회)
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Micropower energy harvesting using high-efficiency indoor organic photovoltaics for self-powered sensor systems

  • Biswas, Swarup (School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute of Information Technology, University of Seoul) ;
  • Lee, Yongju (School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute of Information Technology, University of Seoul) ;
  • Kim, Hyeok (School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute of Information Technology, University of Seoul)
  • Received : 2021.10.01
  • Accepted : 2021.11.25
  • Published : 2021.11.30
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Abstract

We developed a highly efficient organic photovoltaic (OPV) cell with a poly[4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b;4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-(4-(2-ethylhexyl)-3-fluorothieno[3,4-b]thiophene-)-2-carboxylate-2-6-diyl)]:[6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester active layer for harvesting lower-intensity indoor light energy to power various self-powered sensor systems that require power in the microwatt range. In order to achieve higher power conversion efficiency (PCE), we first optimized the thickness of the active layer of the OPV cell through optical simulations. Next, we fabricated an OPV cell with optimized active layer thickness. The device exhibited a PCE of 12.23%, open circuit voltage of 0.66 V, short-circuit current density of 97.7 ㎂/cm2, and fill factor of 60.53%. Furthermore, the device showed a maximum power density of 45 ㎼/cm2, which is suitable for powering a low-power (microwatt range) sensor system.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the International Research & Development Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) of Korea (2019K1A3A1A21031246). This research was also supported by the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology under the "Development of Soft Robotics Technology for Human-Robot Coexistence Care Robots program (Grant Number: KITECH EH210010).

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