• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.73-73
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• 2011

We will report a few methods to improve the efficiency and stability in small molecule based organic solar cells, including the formation of bulk heterojunctions (BHJs) through alternative thermal deposition (ATD), the use of a micro-cavity structure and interface modifications. By ATD which is a simple modification of conventional thermal evaporation, the thicknesses of alternative donor and acceptor layers were precisely controlled down to 0.1 nm, which is critical to form BHJs. The formation of a BHJ in copper(II) phthalocyanine (CuPc) and fullerene (C60) systems was confirmed by AFM, GISAXS and absorption measurements. From analysis of the data, we found that the CuPc|C60 films fabricated by ATD were composed of the nanometer sized disk shaped CuPc nano grains and aggregated C60, which explains the phase separation of CuPc and C60. On the other hand, the co-deposited CuPc:C60 films did not show the existence of separated CuPc nano grains in the CuPc:C60 matrix. The OPV cells fabricated using the ATD method showed significantly enhanced power conversion efficiency compared to the co-deposited OPV cells under a same composition [1]. We will also present by numerical simulation that adoption of microcavity structure in the planar heterojunction can improve the short circuit current in single and tandem OSCs [2]. Interface modifications also allowed us to achieve high efficiency and high stability OSCs.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.69-74
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• 2017

Here we report the influence of thermal treatment on the performance of high efficiency polymer solar cells with the bulk heterojunction films of poly[4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b'] dithiophene-alt-3-fluorothieno[3,4-b]thiophene-2-carboxylate] (PTB7-Th) and [6,6]-phenyl $C_{71}$ butyric acid methyl ester ($PC_{71}BM$). The crystalline nanostructure of PTB7-Th:$PC_{71}BM$ layers, which were annealed at three different temperatures, was investigated by employing synchrotron radiation grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) technique. Results showed that the device performance was slightly reduced by thermal annealing at $50^{\circ}C$ but became significantly poor by thermal annealing at $100^{\circ}C$. The poor device performance by thermal annealing was attributed to the collapse in the crystalline nanostructure of PTB7-Th in the PTB7-Th:$PC_{71}BM$ layers as evidenced by the GIXD measurements that exhibited huge reduction in the intensity of PTB7-Th (100) peak even at $50^{\circ}C$.

• Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.2496-2503
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• 2018

The short-term stability of high efficiency polymer : nonfullerene solar cells was investigated by employing a quick (ten cycles) current density-voltage (J-V) cycling method. Polymer : nonfullerene solar cells with initial power conversion efficiency (PCE) of >10% were fabricated using bulk heterojunction (BHJ) films of poly[(2,6-(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)-benzo[1,2-b:4,5b']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(2-methylene-((3-(1,1-dicyanomethylene)-6/7-methyl)-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). One set of the BHJ (PBDB-T : IT-M) films was thermally annealed at $160^{\circ}C$ for 30min, while another set was used without any thermal treatment after spin-coating. The quick J-V scan (cycling) measurement disclosed that the PCE decay was relatively slower for the annealed BHJ layers than the unannealed (as-cast) BHJ layers. As a result, after ten cycles, the annealed BHJ layers delivered higher PCE than the unannealed BHJ layers due to higher and more stable trend in fill factor. The present quick J-V cycling method is simple but expected to be useful for the prediction of short-term stability in organic solar cells.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.191.2-191.2
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• 2013

The negative photoconductivity was frequently observed in some semiconductors. It was known that the origin of the negative photoresponse from ZnO is molecular chemisorption or the charging effect of nanoparticles in bulk matrix. However, the origin of the negative photoresponse of thin film was not still clear. One of possible explanation is due to the deep level trap scheme, which describes the origin of the negative photoresponse via defect state under illumination of light. However, the defect states below Fermi level have high capture rate by Coulomb effect, so that these states are usually filled by electrons if the defect states have donor-like character. Therefore the condition which the defect states located in below Fermi level should be partially filled by electrons make more difficult to understand of mechanism of the negative photoresponse. In this study, n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction diodes were fabricated by UHV RF magnetron sputter. Then, some diodes show the negative photoresponse under ultra-violet light illumination. The defect state of the ZnO was analyzed by photoluminescence and deep level transient spectroscopy. To interpret the negative photoconductivity, band diagram was simulated by using SCAPS program.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.417-417
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• 2016

Global environmental deterioration has become more serious year by year and thus scientific interests in the renewable energy as environmental technology and replacement of fossil fuels have grown exponentially. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell consisting of semiconductor photoelectrodes that can harvest light and use this energy directly to split water, also known as photoelectrolysis or solar water splitting, is a promising renewable energy technology to produce hydrogen for uses in the future hydrogen economy. A major advantage of PEC systems is that they involve relatively simple processes steps as compared to many other H2 production systems. Until now, a number of materials including TiO2, WO3, Fe2O3, and BiVO4 were exploited as the photoelectrode. However, the PEC performance of these single absorber materials is limited due to their large charge recombinations in bulk, interface and surface, leading low charge separation/transport efficiencies. Recently, coupling of two materials, e.g., BiVO4/WO3, Fe2O3/WO3 and CuWO4/WO3, to form a type II heterojunction has been demonstrated to be a viable means to improve the PEC performance by enhancing the charge separation and transport efficiencies. In this study, we have prepared a triple-layer heterojunction BiVO4/WO3/SnO2 photoelectrode that shows a comparable PEC performance with previously reported best-performing nanostructured BiVO4/WO3 heterojunction photoelectrode via a facile solution method. Interestingly, we found that the incorporation of SnO2 nanoparticles layer in between WO3 and FTO largely promotes electron transport and thus minimizes interfacial recombination. The impact of the SnO2 interfacial layer was investigated in detail by TEM, hall measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. In addition, our planar-structured triple-layer photoelectrode shows a relatively high transmittance due to its low thickness (~300 nm), which benefits to couple with a solar cell to form a tandem PEC device. The overall PEC performance, especially the photocurrent onset potential (Vonset), were further improved by a reactive-ion etching (RIE) surface etching and electrocatalyst (CoOx) deposition.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.481.2-481.2
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• 2014

Bulk hetero junction (BHJ) polymer solar cell (PSCs) is one of the most promising fields as alternative energy source. Especially, the development of new p-type conjugated polymer is one of the main issues to get core technology. In this study, we investigated the chemical doping effects of incorporating 3,6-carbazole units into conjugated polymers based on 2,7-carbazole. We assessed the structural effects of this chemical doping by measuring the photovoltaic device performance of the copolymers with and without annealing. Note that the use of nanostructures in the bulk heterojunction layer could be a major obstacle to commercialization because nano-morphologies are frequently unstable at high temperatures. Therefore, the development of thermally stable polymer:fullerene blends with optimized PCEs is an important goal in this area of research. We studied the morphologies of the copolymers incorporating 3,6-carbazole units resulting from thermal annealing to investigate the effects of the difference between the T g values of the 2,7-carbazole unit and the 3,6-carbazole unit.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.390-393
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• 2009

We report on a new patterning technique for organic functional materials applicable to organic photovoltacis (OPVs). The unconventioal patterning technique, $O_2$ plsama-etching selectively perfluoro-alkyl fluorosilanes, is used for producing a bulk-heterojunction active layer with poly(3-hexylthiophene) as the electron donor and [6,6]-phenyl-$C_{61}$ butyric acid methyl ester as the electron acceptor. The patterning with reduced leakage path and parasitic capacitance suggests a way for fabrication of OPVs with higher energy conversion efficiency.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.53-53
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• 2011

This paper describes results for surface and bulk characterization of the most promising thin film solar cell material for high performance devices, (Ag,Cu) (In,Ga) Se2 (ACIGS). This material in particular exhibits a range of exotic behaviors. The surface and general materials science of the material also has direct implications for the operation of solar cells based upon it. Some of the techniques and results described will include scanning probe (AFM, STM, KPFM) measurements of epitaxial films of different surface orientations, photoelectron spectroscopy and inverse photoemission, Auger electron spectroscopy, and more. Bulk measurements are included as support for the surface measurements such as cathodoluminescence imaging around grain boundaries and showing surface recombination effects, and transmission electron microscopy to verify the surface growth behaviors to be equilibrium rather than kinetic phenomena. The results show that the polar close packed surface of CIGS is the lowest energy surface by far. This surface is expected to be reconstructed to eliminate the surface charge. However, the AgInSe2 compound has yielded excellent atomic-resolution images of the surface with no evidence of surface reconstruction. Similar imaging of CuInSe2 has proven more difficult and no atomic resolution images have been obtained, although current imaging tunneling spectroscopy images show electronic structure variations on the atomic scale. A discussion of the reasons why this may be the case is given. The surface composition and grain boundary compositions match the bulk chemistry exactly in as-grow films. However, the deposition of the heterojunction forming the device alters this chemistry, leading to a strongly n-type surface. This also directly explains unpinning of the Fermi level and the operation of the resulting devices when heterojunctions are formed with the CIGS. These results are linked to device performance through simulation of the characteristic operating behaviors of the cells using models developed in my laboratory.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.235-235
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• 2012

We investigated the energy levels of valence region at the planar junction of poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and C61-butyric acid methylester (PCBM) using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) with ultra high vacuum. These are the most widely used materials for bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells due to their high efficiency. In order to make the planar junction, we carried out the electrospray vacuum deposition (EVD) of PCBM onto spin-coated P3HT in high vacuum conditions (${\sim}10^{-5}-10^{-6}$). The planar junction interface exhibited 0.71 eV for the offset between P3HT HOMO and PCBM LUMO, which is different from the gap (0.85 eV) of individual values and is closer to the open circuit voltage of solar cells fabricated with the same material combination.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.9
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• pp.2835-2838
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• 2013