Open AccessImproved photovoltaic performance of inverted polymer solar cells through a sol-gel processed Al-doped ZnO electron extraction layer
Author(s) -
Jun Young Kim,
Eunae Cho,
Jae-Hoon Kim,
Hyeonwoo Shin,
Jeongkyun Roh,
M. Thambidurai,
Chanmo Kang,
HyungJun Song,
SeongMin Kim,
Hyeok Kim,
Changhee Lee
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.23.0a1334
Subject(s) - materials science , polymer solar cell , active layer , doping , nanocrystalline material , energy conversion efficiency , spin coating , layer (electronics) , electrode , thin film , polymer , optoelectronics , chemical engineering , coating , optics , composite material , nanotechnology , chemistry , engineering , thin film transistor , physics
We demonstrate that nanocrystalline Al-doped zinc oxide (n-AZO) thin film used as an electron-extraction layer can significantly enhance the performance of inverted polymer solar cells based on the bulk heterojunction of poly[[9-(1-octylnonyl)-9H-carbazole-2,7-diyl]-2,5-thiophenediyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole-4,7-diyl-2,5-thiophenediyl] (PCDTBT) and [6,6]-phenyl C(71)-butyric acid methyl ester (PC(70)BM). A synergistic study with both simulation and experiment on n-AZO was carried out to offer a rational guidance for the efficiency improvement. As a result, An n-AZO film with an average grain size of 13 to 22 nm was prepared by a sol-gel spin-coating method, and a minimum resistivity of 2.1 × 10(-3) Ω·cm was obtained for an Al-doping concentration of 5.83 at.%. When an n-AZO film with a 5.83 at.% Al concentration was inserted between the ITO electrode and the active layer (PCDTBT:PC(70)BM), the power conversion efficiency increased from 3.7 to 5.6%.