Passive absorption in a classical photonic crystal-based organic solar cell

We study the light trapping efficiency of a bidimensional photonic crystal (PC) integrated in a classical organic multilayer solar cell. The role of the PC is to enhance light absorption in the active layer by leveraging resonant mode excitation. However the light trapping efficiency is drastically inhibited by the overall absorption of the entire multilayer, which includes absorption by the passive layers that do not contribute to the photocurrent. This study focuses on the impact of passive absorption in ITO and PEDOT, which is often neglected in the study of light trapping organic solar cell systems, despite the significant role it plays in highly absorbing devices. Indeed, we show here that the absorption enhancement in the active layer can vary between 23% and 46% depending on the optical properties of the passive layers, which are dependent on fabrication conditions. We also detail how the PC behaves with coupled parameters such as the optical indices of the passive layers, as well as the period and the air filling fraction of the PC.