• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2015.08a
• /
• pp.61.2-61.2
• /
• 2015

In the past decades, green energy, such as solar energy, wind power, hydropower, biomass energy, geothermal energy, and so on, has been widely investigated and developed to solve energy shortage. Recently, organic solar cells have attracted much attention, because they have many advantages, including low-cost, flexibility, light weight, and easy fabrication [1-3]. Organic solar cells are as a potential candidate of the next generation solar cells. In this abstract, to improve the power conversion efficiency and the stability, the inverted polymer solar cells with various structures were developed [4-6]. The novel cell structures included the P3HT:PCBM inverted polymer solar cells with AZO nanorods array, with pentacene-doped active layer, and with extra P3HT interfacial layer and PCBM interfacial layer. These three difference structures could respectively improve the performance of the P3HT:PCBM inverted polymer solar cells. For the inverted polymer solar cells with AZO nanorods array as the electronic transportation layer, by using the nanorod structure, the improvement of carrier collection and carrier extraction capabilities could be expected due to an increase in contact area between the nanorod array and the active layer. For the inverted polymer solar cells with pentacene-doped active layer, the hole-electron mobility in the active layer could be balanced by doping pentacene contents. The active layer with the balanced hole-electron mobility could reduce the carrier recombination in the active layers to enhance the photocurrent of the resulting inverted polymer solar cells. For the inverted polymer solar cells with extra P3HT and PCBM interfacial layers, the extra PCBM and P3HT interfacial layers could respectively improve the electron transport and hole transport. The extra PCBM interfacial layer served another function was that led more P3HT moving to the top side of the absorption layer, which reduced the non-continuous pathways of P3HT. It indicated that the recombination centers could be further reduced in the absorption layer. The extra P3HT interfacial layer could let the hole be more easily transported to the MoO3 hole transport layer. The high performance of the novel P3HT:PCBM inverted polymer solar cells with various structures were obtained.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.36-41
• /
• 2023

We investigated the properties of vanadium oxide (VOx) buffer layers deposited by a dual RF magnetron sputtering method under various target powers for inverted organic solar cells (IOSCs). Sputter fabricatged VOx thin films exhibited higher crystallinity with the increase of target power, resulting in a uniform and large grain size. The electrical properties of VOx films are improved with the increase of target power because of the increase of V content. In the results, the performance of IOSCs critically depended on the target power during the film growth because the crystalllinity of the VOx film affects the carrier mobility of the VOx film.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.28 no.10
• /
• pp.648-651
• /
• 2015

The characterizations of zinc oxide (ZnO) buffer layers grown by unbalanced magnetron (UBM) sputtering under various substrate temperatures for inverted organic solar cells (IOSCs) were investigated. UBM sputter grown ZnO films exhibited higher crystallinity with increasing the substrate temperature, resulting in uniform and large grain size. Also, the electrical properties of ZnO films are improved with increasing substrate temperature. In the results, the performance of IOSCs critically depended on the substrate temperature during the film growth because the crystalllinity of the ZnO film affect the carrier mobility of the ZnO film.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2011.08a
• /
• pp.377-377
• /
• 2011

Organic solar cells (OSCs) with low cost have been studied to apply on flexible substrate by solution process in low temperature [1]. In previous researches, conventional organic solar cell was composed of metal oxide anode, buffer layer such as PEDOT:PSS, photoactive layer, and metal cathode with low work function. In this structure, indium tin oxide (ITO) and Al was generally used as metal oxide anode and metal cathode, respectively. However, they showed poor reliability, because PEDOT:PSS was sensitive to moisture and air, and the low work function metal cathode was easily oxidized to air, resulting in decreased efficiency in half per day [2]. Inverted organic solar cells (IOSCs) using high work function metal and buffer layer replacing the PEDOT:PSS have focused as a solution in conventional organic solar cell. On the contrary to conventional OSCs, ZnO and TiO2 are required to be used as a buffer layer, since the ITO in IOSC is used as cathode to collect electrons and block holes. The ZnO is expected to be excellent electron transport layer (ETL), because the ZnO has the advantages of high electron mobility, stability in air, easy fabrication at room temperature, and UV absorption. In this study, the IOSCs based on poly [N-900-hepta-decanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(40,70-di-2-thienyl-20,10,30-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT) : [6,6]-phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester (PC70BM) were fabricated with the ZnO electron-transport layer and MoO3 hole-transport layer. Thickness of the ZnO for electron-transport layer was controlled by rotation speed in spin-coating. The PCDTBT and PC70BM were mixed with a ratio of 1:2 as an active layer. As a result, the highest efficiency of 2.53% was achieved.

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

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.1067-1070
• /
• 2011

We have demonstrated that solution-based fabrication of NiO films as HTL can be used for the construction of IOSCs. Type of solvent of NiO-solution, and annealing procedure of the active layers were optimized for obtaining a PCE of 3% of IOSC. The photovoltaic performance of NiO-based device is comparable to that of the same type of solar cell using PEDT:PSS instead of NiO. These solution-based processes can be a promising method for a mass production OSCs under ambient condition.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.447-454
• /
• 2014

Organic solar cells (OSCs) have intensively studied in recent years due to their advantages such as cost effectiveness and possibility of applications in flexible devices. In spite of the high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10 %, the OSCs still have a draw back of their low environmental stability due to the oxidization of aluminum cathode and etching of transparent conducting oxide as electrode. To solve these problems, the inverted structured OSCs (I-OSCs) having greatest potential for achieving an improvement of device performances are suggested. Therefore, there are a lot of studies to develope of interface layer based on organic/inorganic materials for the electron transport layer (ETL) and passivation layer, significant advancements in I-OSCs have driven the development of interface functional materials including electron transport layer. Recent efforts to employing 2D/3D zinc oxide (ZnO) based ETL into I-OSCs have produced OSCs with a power conversion efficiency level that matches the efficiency of ~9 %. In this review, the technical issues and recent progress of ZnO based ETL in I-OSCs to enhancement of device efficiency and stability in terms of materials, process and characterization have summarized.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.55-60
• /
• 2019

Polymer:nonfullerene solar cells with an inverted-type device structure were fabricated by employing the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) active layers, which are composed of poly[(2,6-(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophene-2-yl)-benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene))-alt-(5,5-(1',3'-di-2-thienyl-5',7-bis(2-ethylhexyl)benzo[1',2'-c:4',5'-c']dithiophene-4,8-dione))] (PBDB-T) and 3,9-bis(6-methyl-2-methylene-(3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-indanone))-5,5,11,11-tetrakis(4-hexylphenyl)-dithieno[2,3-d:2',3-d']-s-indaceno[1,2-b:5,6-b']dithiophene (IT-M). The BHJ layers were formed on a pre-patterned indium-tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrate by spin-coating using the blend solutions of PBDB-T and IT-M. The solar cell performances were investigated with respect to the cell position on the ITO-glass substrates. In addition, the short-term shelf lifetime of solar cells was tested by storing the PBDB-T:IT-M solar cells in a glovebox filled with inert gas. The results showed that the performance of solar cells was relatively higher for the cells close to the center of substrates, which was maintained even after storage for 24 h. In particular, the PCE of PBDB-T:IT-M solar cells was marginally decreased after storage for 24 h owing to the slightly reduced fill factor, even though the open circuit voltage was unchanged after 24 h.

• Current Applied Physics
• /
• v.18 no.12
• /
• pp.1564-1570
• /
• 2018

Charge transport dynamics in ZnO based inverted organic solar cell (IOSC) has been characterized with transient photocurrent spectroscopy and localised photocurrent mapping-atomic force microscopy. The value of maximum exciton generation rate was found to vary from $2.6{\times}10^{27}m^{-3}s^{-1}$ ($J_{sat}=79.7A\;m^{-2}$) to $2.9{\times}10^{27}m^{-3}s^{-1}$ ($J_{sat}=90.8A\;m^{-2}$) for devices with power conversion efficiency ranging from 2.03 to 2.51%. These results suggest that nanorods served as an excellent electron transporting layer that provides efficient charge transport and enhances IOSC device performance. The photovoltaic performance of OSCs with various growth times of ZnO nanorods have been analysed for a comparison between AM1.5G spectrum and local solar spectrum. The simulated PCE of all devices operating under local spectrum exhibited extensive improvement with the gain of 13.3-3.7% in which the ZnO nanorods grown at 15 min possess the highest PCE under local solar with the value of 2.82%.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2012.02a
• /
• pp.91-91
• /
• 2012

We aim in synthesizing various functional thin films thinner than ~ 10 nm for environmental applications and photovoltaic devices. Atomic layer deposition is used for synthesizing inorganic thin films with a precise control of the film thickness. Several examples about application of our thin films for removing volatile organic compounds (VOC) will be highlighted, which are summarized in the below. 1) $TiO_2$ thin films prepared by ALD at low temperature ($<100^{\circ}C$) show high adsorption capacity for toluene. In combination with nanostructured templates, $TiO_2$ thin films can be used as building-block of high-performing VOC filter. 2) $TiO_2$ thin films on carbon fibers and nanodiamonds annealed at high temperatures are active for photocatalytic oxidation of VOCs, i.e. photocatalytic filter can be created by atomic layer deposition. 3) NiO can catalyze oxidation of toluene to $CO_2$ and $H_2O$ at $<300^{\circ}C$. $TiO_2$ thin films on NiO can reduce poisoning of NiO surfaces by reaction intermediates below $200^{\circ}C$. We also fabricated inverted organic solar cell based on ZnO electron collecting layers on ITO. $TiO_2$ thin films with a mean diameter less than 3 nm on ZnO can enhance photovoltaic performance by reducing electron-hole recombination on ZnO surfaces.