Jiangeng Xue

Asymmetric tandem organic photovoltaic cells with hybrid planar-mixed molecular heterojunctions

We demonstrate high-efficiency organic photovoltaic cells by stacking two hybrid planar-mixed molecular heterojunction cells in series. Absorption of incident light is maximized by locating the subcell tuned to absorb long-wavelength light nearest to the transparent anode, and tuning the second subcell closest to the reflecting metal cathode to preferentially absorb short-wavelength solar energy. Using the donor, copper phthalocyanine, and the acceptor, C60, we achieve a maximum power conversion efficiency of ηP=(5.7±0.3)% under 1 sun simulated AM1.5G solar illumination. An open-circuit voltage of VOC⩽1.2V is obtained, doubling that of a single cell. Analytical models suggest that power conversion efficiencies exceeding 6.5% can be obtained by this architecture.

4.2% efficient organic photovoltaic cells with low series resistances

We demonstrate double-heterostructure copper phthalocyanine/C60 organic photovoltaic cells with series resistances as low as 0.1 Ω cm2. A high fill factor of ∼0.6 is achieved, which is only slightly reduced at very intense illumination. As a result, the power conversion efficiency increases with the incident optical power density, reaching a maximum of (4.2±0.2)% under 4–12 suns simulated AM1.5G illumination. The cell performance is accurately described employing an analysis based on conventional semiconductor p–n junction diodes. The dependence of the series resistance on the device area suggests the dominance of the bulk resistance of the indium-tin-oxide anode as a limiting factor in practical cell efficiencies.

Organic small molecule solar cells with a homogeneously mixed copper phthalocyanine: C60 active layer

An efficient organic solar cell with a vacuum codeposited donor–acceptor copper phthalocyanine (CuPc):C60 mixed layer is described. A device with a structure of indium tin oxide/330 A CuPc:C60(1:1)/100 A C60/75 A 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline/Ag has a series resistance of only RS=0.25 Ω cm2, resulting in a current density of ∼1 A/cm2 at a forward bias of +1 V, and a rectification ratio of 106 at ±1 V. Under simulated solar illumination, the short circuit current density increases linearly with light intensity up to 2.4 suns. The maximum power conversion efficiency is ηP=(3.6±0.2)% at 0.3 suns (AM1.5G simulated solar spectrum) and ηP=(3.5±0.2)% at 1 sun. Although the fill factor decreases with increasing intensity, a power efficiency as high as ηP=(3.3±0.2)% is observed at 2.4 suns intensity.

Effects of triplet energies and transporting properties of carrier transporting materials on blue phosphorescent organic light emitting devices

We have studied the effects of the hole transporting layers and electron transporting layers on the device efficiencies of iridium(III) bis[(4,6-di-fluorophenyl)-pyridinato-N,C2′] picolinate (FIrpic) doped 3,5′−N,N′-dicarbazole-benzene (mCP) host blue phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes. We found that the device efficiency is very sensitive to the hole transporting materials used and both the triplet energy and carrier transport properties affect the device efficiency. On the other hand, there is no apparent correlation between the device efficiency and the triplet energy of the electron transporting material used. Instead, the device efficiency is affected by the electron mobility of the electron transporting layer only.

High efficiency blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting device

We have demonstrated a substantial enhancement in the efficiency of iridium (III) bis[(4,6-di-fluorophenyl)-pyridinate-N,C2′]picolinate based blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting devices (PHOLEDs). The efficiencies of PHOLEDs with conventional electron transport materials are low due to their low electron mobilities as well low triplet energies. High triplet energy electron transporting material with high electron mobility was used as a hole blocker to achieve efficient exciton confinement and good charge balance in the device thereby achieving a high current efficiency of 49cd∕A and an external quantum efficiency of 23%.

Mixed donor-acceptor molecular heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications. I. Material properties

In this and the following paper (Parts I and II, respectively), we discuss the properties of mixed donor-acceptor organic thin films and their application to organic solar cells. In Part I, we present a study of the material properties of mixed donor-acceptor thin films. Through optical absorption, x-ray diffraction, microscopy, and charge transport measurements, we determine the relationships among film microstructure, mixing ratio, and charge conduction in mixtures of two organic molecular species. We find that mixed layers of the molecular pair of 1:1 (by weight) copper phthalocyanine in C60 have electron and hole mobilities reduced by more than one order of magnitude compared to corresponding films of pure composition. In Part II, we demonstrate that the performance of organic hybrid planar-mixed heterojunction photovoltaic cells based on a mixed donor-acceptor molecular layer sandwiched between the donor and acceptor layers of homogeneous composition can have improved performance over conventional pl...

Mixed donor-acceptor molecular heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications. II. Device performance

We demonstrate efficient organic photovoltaic cells employing a photoactive region composed of a mixed donor-acceptor molecular layer, the properties of which were introduced in the preceding paper (Part I) [Rand et al., J. Appl. Phys. 98, 124902 (2005)]. The hybrid planar-mixed heterojunction (PM-HJ) device architecture consists of a film mixture of donor and acceptor molecules inserted between layers of pure donor and acceptor composition. Using the donor, copper phthalocyanine, and the acceptor, C60, we demonstrate a hybrid PM-HJ cell with a maximum power conversion efficiency of (5.0±0.3)% under 1–4suns simulated AM1.5 solar illumination. The current-voltage characteristics of the PM-HJ cell are described using a model based on the field-dependent charge collection length.

High-Efficiency, Low Turn-on Voltage Blue-Violet Quantum-Dot-Based Light-Emitting Diodes

We report high-efficiency blue-violet quantum-dot-based light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs) by using high quantum yield ZnCdS/ZnS graded core-shell QDs with proper surface ligands. Replacing the oleic acid ligands on the as-synthesized QDs with shorter 1-octanethiol ligands is found to cause a 2-fold increase in the electron mobility within the QD film. Such a ligand exchange also results in an even greater increase in hole injection into the QD layer, thus improving the overall charge balance in the LEDs and yielding a 70% increase in quantum efficiency. Using 1-octanethiol capped QDs, we have obtained a maximum luminance (L) of 7600 cd/m(2) and a maximum external quantum efficiency (ηEQE) of (10.3 ± 0.9)% (with the highest at 12.2%) for QD-LEDs devices with an electroluminescence peak at 443 nm. Similar quantum efficiencies are also obtained for other blue/violet QD-LEDs with peak emission at 455 and 433 nm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of blue QD-LEDs with ηEQE > 10%. Combined with the low turn-on voltage of ∼2.6 V, these blue-violet ZnCdS/ZnS QD-LEDs show great promise for use in next-generation full-color displays.

Recent progress in organic photovoltaics: device architecture and optical design

Research on organic photovoltaic (OPV) materials and devices has flourished in recent years due to their potential for offering low-cost solar energy conversion. With a deepened understanding on the fundamental photovoltaic processes in organic electronic materials and the development of tailored materials and device architectures, we have seen a rapid increase in the efficiency of OPV devices to over 10%, which attracts tremendous commercial interests for further development and manufacturing. Here, we review recent progress in the field of organic photovoltaics, particularly on various innovative device architectures and optical designs to maximize the power conversion efficiency of OPV cells for a given set of photoactive donor and acceptor materials. Following an introduction of the basic device operation of organic photovoltaic cells and the advances in active materials, we firstly present different device architectures that have been used to optimize the charge generation and collection characteristics within the OPV devices. We then discuss various methods to manage and manipulate the light wave propagation in OPV devices for more complete absorption of the incident light, an important area that has been underexplored so far.

Efficient deep-blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting device with improved electron and exciton confinement

We report a significant improvement in the efficiency of deep-blue phosphorescent organic light-emitting devices based on the electrophosphorescent dye bis(4′,6′-difluorophenylpyridinato)tetrakis (1-pyrazolyl) borate (FIr6). Using 1,1-bis[(di-4-tolylamino)phenyl]cyclohexane (TAPC) as the hole transport layer (HTL), we achieved a maximum external quantum efficiency of ηEQE=(18±1)%, which is approximately 50% higher than ηEQE=12% in a previously reported device with bis[N-(1-naphthyl)-N-phenyl-amino]biphenyl as the HTL. The maximum luminous power efficiency was also improved from (14±1)lm∕W to (18±1)lm∕W. We attribute this efficiency improvement to the enhanced electron and exciton confinement provided by TAPC.