• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.252-256
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• 2013

We introduced sensitizing dyes into the bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaic (PV) layer of polymer solar cells (PSCs). The sensitizing dyes doped were Bis(tetra butyl ammonium) cis-dithio cyanato bis(2,2'-bipyridine-4-carboxylicacid-4'-carboxylate) ruthenium (II) (N719 dye) and the BHJ PV layer used was made of poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl $C_{61}$-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). It was found that the N719 dyes increase the photovoltaic performance, i.e., increasing open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current density with improved fill factor. For the P3HT:PCBM PV cells doped with the N719 dyes (0.24 wt%), an increase in power conversion efficiency of 4.0% was achieved, compared to that of the control cells (3.6%) without the N719 dyes.

• Transactions of the Society of Information Storage Systems
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.42-47
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• 2013

In this study, we have experimentally analyzed how the surface properties of transparent electrode layer influence the photovoltaic performance of bulk heterojunction organic solar cell by the contact angle measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) observation. As a result, the power conversion efficiency of test devices improved from 0.64% to 1.83% and 2.15% by UV-ozone exposure and $O_2$ plasma treatment, respectively. Thus, we conclude that the surface activation process is very important for better performance and stability in addition to the cleaning process of carbonate residue on the surface.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.06a
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• pp.460-461
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• 2009

We studied the effects of post-annealing treatment on poly(3-hexylthiophene)(P3HT, donor):[6,6]-phenyl $C_{61}$ butyric acid methyl ester(PCBM, acceptor) blend film as an active layer in the organic solar cells(OSCs). For the formation of the active layer, 3 wt.% P3HT:PCBM solution in chlorobenzene were deposited by spin-coating method. In order to optimize the performance of OSCs, the P3HT crystallization and the redistribution of PCBM cluster at P3HT:PCBM composition as a function of post-annealing condition from room temperature to $200^{\circ}C$ were measured by the Hall effect and the UV-vis Spectrophotometer. We thought that the improved efficiency in the OSCs with post-annealing treatment at $150^{\circ}C$ can be explained by the efficient separation or collection of the photogenerated excitons at donor-acceptor interface by P3HT crystallization.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.629-635
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• 2012

Two novel conjugated copolymers utilizing 4,7-dithien-2-yl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (DTBT) coupled with cyano (-CN) substituted vinylene, as the electron deficient moeity, have been synthesized and evaluated in bulk heterojunction solar cell. The electron deficient moeity was coupled with carbazole and fluorene unit by Knoevenagel condition to provide poly(bis-2,7-((Z)-1-cyano-2-(5-(7-(2-thienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazol-4-yl)-2-thienyl)ethenyl)-alt-9-(1-octylnonyl)-9H-carbazol-2-yl-2-butenenitrile) (PCVCNDTBT) and poly(bis-2,7-((Z)-1-cyano-2-(5-(7-(2-thienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazol-4-yl)-2-thienyl)ethenyl)-alt-9,9-dihexyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl) (PFVCNDTBT). The optical band gaps of PCVCNDTBT (1.74 eV) and PFVCNDTBT (1.80 eV) are lower than those of PCDTBT (1.88 eV) and PFVDTBT (2.13 eV), which is advantageous to provide better coverage of the solar spectrum in the longer wavelength region. The high $V_{oc}$ value of the PSC of PCVCNDTBT (~0.91 V) is attributed to its lower HOMO energy level ( 5.6 eV) as compared to PCDTBT ( 5.5 eV). Bulk heterojunction solar cells based on the blends of the polymers with [6,6]phenyl-$C_{61}$-butyric acid methyl ester ($PC_{61}BM$) gave power conversion efficiencies of 0.76% for PCVCNDTBT under AM 1.5, 100 mW/$cm^2$.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.39-46
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• 2013

In this paper, organic solar cells(OSCs) based on bulk-heterojunction structures were fabricated by spin coating method using polymer P3HT and fullerene PCBM as a photoactive layer. The fabricated OSCs had a simple glass/ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM/Al structures. The photoactive layer of mixed P3HT:PCBM was formed with 1:1 weight ratio. The hole transport layer(HTL) was used conducting polymer PEDOT:PSS concentration with gold nanoparticles. The annealing temperature and concentration of nanoparticles in HTL were verified to improve the OSC characterization. The percentage of gold nanoparticles in HTL were 0.5 wt% and 1.0 wt%, and the surface morphology, electrical properties and absorption intensities were investigated. The devices were 0.5 wt%, and the highest 3.1% of the powder conversion efficiency(PCE), 10.2 $mA/cm^2$ of the maximum short circuit current density($J_{SC}$), 0.535V of the open circuit voltage($V_{OC}$) and 55.8% of the fill factor(F.F) could be obtained when the nanoparticle concertration was 0.5 wt%. The annealing temperature of HTL was $110^{\circ}C$, $130^{\circ}C$, $150^{\circ}C$ in vacuum oven and measured the absorption intensities, surface morphology, crystallinity and electrical properties were investigated. The best property was obtained in HTL annealed at $130^{\circ}C$ for gold nanoparticles of 0.5 wt%, showing that $J_{SC}$, $V_{OC}$, F.F and PCE were about 12.0 $mA/cm^2$, 0.525V, 64.2% and 4.0%, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.134-134
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• 2012

We investigated the interface of poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and C61-butyric acid methylester (PCBM) by using photoelectron spectroscopy (PES). These are the most widely used materials for bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells due to their high efficiency. Study of the BHJ interfaces is difficult because the organic films are typically prepared by spin coating in ambient conditions. This is incompatible with the interface electronic structure probes such as PES, which requires ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Study of interface requires gradual deposition of thin films that is also incompatible with the spin coating process. In this work, we used electrospray vacuum deposition (EVD) technique to deposit P3HT and PCBM in high vacuum conditions. EVD allows us to form polymer thin films onto ITO substrate in a step-wise manner directly from solutions and to use PES without exposing the sample to the ambient condition. Although the morphology of the EVD deposited P3HT films observed by optical and atomic force microscopes is quite different from that of the spin coated ones, the valence region spectra were similar. PCBM was deposited on the P3HT film in a similar manner and the energy level alignment between these two materials was studied. We discuss the relation between Voc of P3HT:PCBM solar cell and HOMO-LUMO energy offset obtained in this study.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.191-197
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• 2009

We have investigated the effect of strong p-type organic semiconductor $F_4$-TCNQ-doped CuPc hole transport layer on the performance of p-i-n type bulk heterojunction photovoltaic device with ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CuPc: $F_4$-TCNQ(5 wt%)/CuPc:C60(blending ratio l:l)/C60/BCP/LiF/Al, architecture fabricated via vacuum deposition process, and have evaluated the J-V characteristics, short-circuit current ($J_{sc}$), open-circuit voltage($V_{oc}$), fill factor(FF), and power conversion efficiency(${\eta}_e$) of the device. By doping $F_4$-TCNQ into CuPc hole transport layer, increased absorption intensity in absorption spectra, uniform dispersion of organic molecules in the layer, surface uniformity of the layer, and enhanced injection currents improved the current photovoltaic device with power conversion efficiency(${\eta}_e$) of 0.16%, which is still low value compared to silicone solar cell indicating that many efforts should be made to improve organic photovoltaic devices.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.694-701
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• 2013

A new copolymer named T-TI24T (poly((5,5-(2-butyl-5,6-bisdecyloxy-4,7-di-thiophen-2-yl-isoindole-1,3-dione))- alt-(2,5-thiophene))) based on phthalimide derivative and thiophene is synthesized by the Stille-coupling reaction. The polymer shows relatively high number average molecular weight of 86500 g/mol with good solubility in common organic solvents such as chloroform, 1,2-dichlorobenzene, and toluene and is thermally stable up to $380^{\circ}C$. Besides, it possesses a relatively low highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level of -5.33 eV, promising the high open circuit voltage ($V_{oc}$) for photovoltaic applications. Active layer solution of polymer T-TI24T-as a donor and (6)-1-(3-(methoxycarbonyl)- {5}-1-phenyl[5,6]-fullerene (PCBM)-as an acceptor in different weight ratios is applied to fabricate the polymer solar cell devices. The ratio of polymer/PCBM affects the solar cell efficiency and the best performance exhibits in the device with polymer/PCBM = 1:3 (w/w), which shows a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.199% and a $V_{oc}$ of 0.99 V, respectively. Even though the device shows the very low PCE, the $V_{oc}$ is higher than that of well known bulk heterojunction type solar cell based on P3HT:PC61BM (c.a. 0.5 V).

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.154.2-154.2
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• 2016

In this work, we introduce a solution-processed CdS interlayer for use in inverted bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells, and compare this material to a series of standard organic and inorganic cathode interlayers. Different combinations of solution-processed CdS, ZnO and conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) layers were compared as cathode interlayers on ITO substrates to construct inverted solar cells based on $PTB7:PC_{71}BM$ and a $P3HT:PC_{61}BM$ as photoactive layers. Introduction of a CdS interlayer significantly improved the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of inverted $PTB7:PC_{71}BM$ devices from 2.0% to 4.9%, however, this efficiency was still fairly low compared to benchmark ZnO or CPE interlayers due to a low open circuit voltage ($V_{OC}$), stemming from the deep conduction band energy of CdS. The $V_{OC}$ was greatly improved by introducing an interfacial dipole (CPE) layer on top of the CdS layer, yielding outstanding diode characteristics and a PCE of 6.8%. The best performing interlayer, however, was a single CPE layer alone, which yielded a $V_{OC}$ of 0.727 V, a FF of 63.2%, and a PCE of 7.89%. Using $P3HT:PC_{61}BM$ as an active layer, similar trends were observed. Solar cells without the cathode interlayer yielded a PCE of 0.46% with a poor $V_{OC}$ of 0.197 V and FF of 34.3%. In contrast, the use of hybrid ZnO/CPE layer as the cathode interlayer considerably improved the $V_{OC}$ of 0.599 V and FF of 53.3%, resulting the PCE of 2.99%. Our results indicate that the CdS layer yields excellent diode characteristics, however, performs slightly worse than benchmark ZnO and CPE layers in solar cell devices due to parasitic absorption below 550 nm. These results suggest that the hybrid inorganic/organic interlayer materials are promising candidates as cathode interlayers for high efficiency inverted solar cells through the modification of interface contacts.