Polymer/cathode interface barrier limiting the open circuit voltage in polymer:fullerene organic bulk heterojunction solar cells: A quantitative analysis

By exploring the origin of the saturation current (J0), we show that the polymer/cathode interface determines the open circuit voltage (Voc) in polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells. We fabricate and characterize P3HT:PCBM solar cells and compare their electrical characteristics using as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2014-01, Vol.104 (4)
Main Authors: Nolasco, J. C., Ramos-Ortiz, G., Maldonado, J. L., Barbosa-Garcia, O., Ecker, B., von Hauff, E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied physics
Cathodes
Electric contacts
Fullerenes
Heterojunctions
Open circuit voltage
Photovoltaic cells
Polymers
Quantitative analysis
Schottky diodes
Solar cells
Thermionic emission
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Summary:By exploring the origin of the saturation current (J0), we show that the polymer/cathode interface determines the open circuit voltage (Voc) in polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells. We fabricate and characterize P3HT:PCBM solar cells and compare their electrical characteristics using as reference P3HT/cathode Schottky diodes. We demonstrate with thermionic emission theory that J0 has the same origin in both devices. Thus, a general barrier-dependent expression for Voc, valid for non-ohmic cathode contacts is proposed and discussed.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4863755