Jan Meiss

Towards efficient tin-doped indium oxide (ITO)-free inverted organic solar cells using metal cathodes

We present zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc):C60 bulk-heterojunction top-illuminated organic solar cells using ultrathin metal layers as transparent top contacts. We show that solar cell performance sensitively depends on the interface and morphology of the cathode, which can be influenced by varying the composition and layer structure of the metal contact. We investigate various metal combinations, such as 3 nm Al/8 nm Ag and 7 nm Al/14 nm Ag, to illustrate the necessity to find a suitable combination of morphology and electrical and optical properties. Solar cells using standard materials and a 1 nm Al/14 nm Ag cathode exhibit promising efficiencies of over 2.2%.

Improved bulk heterojunction organic solar cells employing C70 fullerenes

We show that the fullerene C70 is suitable to replace fullerene C60, which is commonly used as electron transporter and acceptor in small-molecule organic solar cells. It is shown that the higher absorption of C70 leads to high external quantum efficiencies of over 50% in the spectral range of 500–700 nm. By optimizing the energy level alignment to hole transport layers, the absorption, and the ratio of C70:zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) in a bulk heterojunction solar cell, an efficiency of η=2.87% is achieved. This is a substantial improvement over an identical solar cell employing C60 having η=2.27%. The efficiency increase is due to a higher photocurrent, while fill factor and open-circuit voltage for C70 and C60-containing organic solar cells remain comparable.

Thick C60:ZnPc bulk heterojunction solar cells with improved performance by film deposition on heated substrates

We study the influence of different substrate temperatures during the deposition of the ZnPc:C60 blend layer in bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. It is shown that substrate heating during evaporation leads to a significant improvement in the solar cell performance mainly due to an increase in photocurrent and fill factor (FF). This is attributed to improved morphology resulting in better charge carrier percolation pathways within the ZnPc:C60 blend, leading to reduced transport losses. Using this method, blend layer thicknesses of 150 nm are possible without loss in FF, which requires a three-dimensional interpenetrating network without isolated clusters. When heating the substrate up to 110 °C, an efficiency of 2.56% is achieved compared to 1.59% for an identical device prepared at room temperature.

In-situ conductivity and Seebeck measurements of highly efficient n-dopants in fullerene C60

We present two organic dimetal complexes Cr2(hpp)4 and W2(hpp)4 as n-dopants investigated in the model system of fullerene C60 for the application in organic electronic devices. Conductivity and Seebeck measurements on doped layers are carried out in vacuum at different doping concentrations and various substrate temperatures to compare the two dopants. Very high conductivities of up to 4 S/cm are achieved for both organic dopants. The thermal activation energy of the conductivity as well as the measured Seebeck coefficient are found to decrease with increasing doping concentration, indicating a shift of the Fermi level towards the electron transport level of the n-doped C60.

Highly efficient semitransparent tandem organic solar cells with complementary absorber materials

We present highly efficient, semitransparent small molecule organic solar cells. The devices employ an indium tin oxide-free top contact, consisting of thin metal films. An additional organic layer is used to enhance light outcoupling. The solar cell incorporates two stacked subcells, each containing a donor:acceptor bulk heterojunction. The two subcells have complementary absorbers, with separate blue (C60), red (fluorinated zinc phthalocyanine), and green (dicyanovinyl oligothiophene derivative) absorbing molecules. A power conversion efficiency of 4.9 ± 0.2% is obtained for the device having an average transmission of 24% in the visible range.

Optimizing the morphology of metal multilayer films for indium tin oxide (ITO)-free inverted organic solar cells

We present metal multilayers consisting of aluminum and silver in different combinations serving as semitransparent top contacts for organic solar cells. Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and optical spectroscopy are used to illustrate how ultrathin Al interlayers influence the morphology of Ag layers evaporated on top of organic materials and how closed layers with good conductivity can be achieved. Multilayer metal contacts are used to fabricate top-illuminated small-molecule organic solar cells (SM-OSCs) which reach efficiencies comparable to conventional SM-OSCs that employ tin-doped indium oxide as electrode. It is shown that combinations of Al and Au lead to similar results, suggesting a similar mechanism for the influence on morphological development of both Ag and Au.

Improved light harvesting in tin-doped indum oxide (ITO)-free inverted bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells using capping layers

We show that ultrathin metal layers (Ag or Al/Ag) are feasible as transparent top contacts for zinc phthalocyanine: C60 bulk-heterojunction inverted organic solar cells thermally evaporated on glass substrates. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the introduction of an organic capping layer drastically increases light incoupling and photon harvesting, in accordance with optical simulations. Proof of principle tin-doped indium oxide (ITO)-free solar cells employing a transparent metal contact and a capping layer reach efficiencies of 1.06%, compared to 0.69% without addition of the capping layer.

Near-infrared absorbing semitransparent organic solar cells

We present efficient, semitransparent small molecule organic solar cells. The devices employ an indium tin oxide-free top contact, consisting of thin metal films and an additional organic capping layer for enhanced light in/outcoupling. The solar cell encorporates a bulk heterojunction with the donor material Ph2-benz-bodipy, an infrared absorber. Combination of Ph2-benz-bodipy with C60 as acceptor leads to devices with high open circuit voltages of up to 0.81 V and short circuit current densities of 5-6 mA/cm2, resulting in efficiences of 2.2%-2.5%. At the same time, the devices are highly transparent, with an average transmittance in the visible range (400-750 nm) of up to 47.9%, with peaks at 538 nm of up to 64.2% and an average transmittance in the yellow-green range of up to 61.8%.

Selective absorption enhancement in organic solar cells using light incoupling layers

We show that capping layers of tris-(8-hydroxy-quinolinato)-aluminum Alq3 enable increased absorption and photocurrent in organic solar cells (OSCs) when using transparent metal films as top electrodes. Furthermore, by varying the capping layer thickness, the optical field in the OSC is tuned for selective wavelengths, opening a possibility of influencing the external quantum efficiency for specific absorber materials. It is described how a second maximum of the optical field intensity can be utilized, which is a concept significant for tandem solar cells. Indium tin oxide (ITO)-free OSCs are presented which show the influence of capping layer on efficiency, saturation, fill factor, and open-circuit voltage, with numerical calculations supporting the experimental evidence of layer-selective enhancement.

Efficient semitransparent small-molecule organic solar cells

We present semitransparent small-molecule organic solar cells (OSC) deposited by thermal evaporation onto indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass substrates. The devices employ ITO-free ultrathin metal layers as top electrodes, containing 1nm metal surfactant interlayer for improved morphology. Using a bulk heterojunction of zinc phthalocyanine and C60, sandwiched in between doped dedicated transport layers for efficient charge carrier extraction, power conversion efficiencies comparable to conventional OSC with an intransparent thick back electrode and similar device layout are achieved: the semitransparent OSC yield power conversion efficiencies well above 2% with external quantum efficiencies above 30%–40%. Organic light incoupling layers improve the transmission to up to 50% in the visible part of the optical spectrum.