Effects of active layer thickness and thermal annealing on polythiophene: Fullerene bulk heterojunction photovoltaic devices

The effect of thermal annealing on photovoltaic devices comprising poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl C 61 butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) with thicknesses up to 1200 nm was investigated. Without thermal annealing, the efficiency of the as-prepared devices decreased with increasing active lay...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2010-08, Vol.97 (5), p.053305-053305-3
Main Authors: Zeng, Lichang, Tang, Ching W., Chen, Shaw H.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The effect of thermal annealing on photovoltaic devices comprising poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl C 61 butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) with thicknesses up to 1200 nm was investigated. Without thermal annealing, the efficiency of the as-prepared devices decreased with increasing active layer thickness, reflecting largely a reduction in the short-circuit current density and an inverse photocurrent spectral response. Thermal annealing of the full devices was found to substantially recover thick-film device efficiencies while reducing the thin-film device efficiencies. The profound variations in photovoltaic characteristics were interpreted in terms of vertical phase separation in the P3HT:PCBM blend film and Li + diffusion from the LiF/Al contact.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.3474654