Device Performance of APFO-3/PCBM Solar Cells with Controlled Morphology

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Organic Electronics
• Photovoltaics

Background:

• Polymer/fullerene solar cells are a key area of organic electronics research.
• Device architecture significantly impacts photovoltaic performance.
• Understanding morphology-performance relationships is crucial for efficiency gains.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and compare the photocurrent/voltage performance of three distinct polymer/fullerene solar cell structures.
• To identify the optimal device architecture for maximizing energy conversion efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of polymer/fullerene solar cells using three different device structures: diffuse bilayer, spontaneously formed multilayer, and vertically homogenous thin films.
• Characterization of photocurrent and voltage performance for each device structure.

Main Results:

• The spontaneously formed multilayer structure exhibited superior photocurrent and voltage characteristics compared to the diffuse bilayer and vertically homogenous thin film structures.
• The self-stratified multilayer device achieved the highest overall energy conversion efficiency among the tested configurations.

Conclusions:

• The self-stratified morphology in polymer/fullerene solar cells is critical for enhancing device performance.
• Optimizing the nanoscale organization of active layer materials can lead to significant improvements in solar cell efficiency.