Understanding the Thickness-Dependent Performance of Organic Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells: The Influence of Mobility, Lifetime, and Space Charge

We investigate the reasons for the dependence of photovoltaic performance on the absorber thickness of organic solar cells using experiments and drift-diffusion simulations. The main trend in photocurrent and fill factor versus thickness is determined by mobility and lifetime of the charge carriers. In addition, space charge becomes more and more important the thicker the device is because it creates field free regions with low collection efficiency. The two main sources of space-charge effects are doping and asymmetric mobilities. We show that for our experimental results on Si-PCPDTBT:PC₇₁BM (poly­[(4,40-bis­(2-ethylhexyl)­dithieno­[3,2-<i>b</i>:20,30-<i>d</i>]­silole)-2,6-diyl-<i>alt</i>-(4,7-bis­(2-thienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)-5,50-diyl]:[6,6]-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester) solar cells, the influence of doping is most likely the dominant influence on the space charge and has an important effect on the thickness dependence of performance

Understanding the Thickness-Dependent Performance of Organic Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells: The Influence of Mobility, Lifetime, and Space Charge

We investigate the reasons for the dependence of photovoltaic performance on the absorber thickness of organic solar cells using experiments and drift-diffusion simulations. The main trend in photocurrent and fill factor versus thickness is determined by mobility and lifetime of the charge carriers. In addition, space charge becomes more and more important the thicker the device is because it creates field free regions with low collection efficiency. The two main sources of space-charge effects are doping and asymmetric mobilities. We show that for our experimental results on Si-PCPDTBT:PC₇₁BM (poly­[(4,40-bis­(2-ethylhexyl)­dithieno­[3,2-<i>b</i>:20,30-<i>d</i>]­silole)-2,6-diyl-<i>alt</i>-(4,7-bis­(2-thienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)-5,50-diyl]:[6,6]-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester) solar cells, the influence of doping is most likely the dominant influence on the space charge and has an important effect on the thickness dependence of performance

Determination of Thermal Transition Depth Profiles in Polymer Semiconductor Films with Ellipsometry

Geometric confinement and interface effects can significantly alter the thermodynamic properties of thin polymer films. Phase transition temperatures have been shown to strongly depend on film thickness below a critical thickness threshold. It has been suggested that this behavior is due to an interface-induced continuous variation in phase transition temperatures throughout the depth of the films. Here we employ variable-temperature spectroscopic ellipsometry to demonstrate the existence of these depth profiles. We examine four different polymer semiconductors that are of interest for organic light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and field-effect transistors. In contrast to insulating polymers, these light-absorbing materials provide detailed information about structural changes as a function of depth due to wavelength-dependent attenuation. This concept enables us to investigate a broad range of thermodynamic processes including the glass transition, crystallization as well as crystalline and liquid-crystalline melting. In general, for the here investigated systems, higher transition temperatures are found at the free surface. Finally, the deduced profiles are used to predict the thickness dependence of the mean phase transition temperature

Interplay between Fullerene Surface Coverage and Contact Selectivity of Cathode Interfaces in Organic Solar Cells

Interfaces play a determining role in establishing the degree of carrier selectivity at outer contacts in organic solar cells. Considering that the bulk heterojunction consists of a blend of electron donor and acceptor materials, the specific relative surface coverage at the electrode interfaces has an impact on the carrier selectivity. This work unravels how fullerene surface coverage at cathode contacts lies behind the carrier selectivity of the electrodes. A variety of techniques such as variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry and capacitance–voltage measurements have been used to determine the degree of fullerene surface coverage in a set of PCPDTBT-based solar cells processed with different additives. A full screening from highly fullerene-rich to polymer-rich phases attaching the cathode interface has enabled the overall correlation between surface morphology (relative coverage) and device performance (operating parameters). The general validity of the measurements is further discussed in three additional donor/acceptor systems: PCPDTBT, P3HT, PCDTBT, and PTB7 blended with fullerene derivatives. It is demonstrated that a fullerene-rich interface at the cathode is a prerequisite to enhance contact selectivity and consequently power conversion efficiency

Reversible Hydration of CH₃NH₃PbI₃ in Films, Single Crystals, and Solar Cells

Solar cells composed of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPI) are notorious for their sensitivity to moisture. We show that (i) hydrated crystal phases are formed when MAPI is exposed to water vapor at room temperature and (ii) these phase changes are fully reversed when the material is subsequently dried. The reversible formation of CH₃NH₃PbI₃·H₂O followed by (CH₃NH₃)₄PbI₆·2H₂O (upon long exposure times) was observed using time-resolved XRD and ellipsometry of thin films prepared using “solvent engineering”, single crystals, and state-of-the-art solar cells. In contrast to water vapor, the presence of liquid water results in the irreversible decomposition of MAPI to form PbI₂. MAPI changes from dark brown to transparent on hydration; the precise optical constants of CH₃NH₃PbI₃·H₂O formed on single crystals were determined, with a bandgap at 3.1 eV. Using the single-crystal optical constants and thin-film ellipsometry measurements, the time-dependent changes to MAPI films exposed to moisture were modeled. The results suggest that the monohydrate phase forms independent of the depth in the film, suggesting rapid transport of water molecules along grain boundaries. Vapor-phase hydration of an unencapsulated solar cell (initially <i>J</i>_sc ≈ 19 mA cm^–2 and <i>V</i>_oc ≈ 1.05 V at 1 sun) resulted in more than a 90% drop in short-circuit photocurrent and ∼200 mV loss in open-circuit potential; however, these losses were fully reversed after the device was exposed to dry nitrogen for 6 h. Hysteresis in the current–voltage characteristics was significantly increased after this dehydration, which may be related to changes in the defect density and morphology of MAPI following recrystallization from the hydrate. Based on our observations, we suggest that irreversible decomposition of MAPI in the presence of water vapor only occurs significantly once a grain has been fully converted to the monohydrate phase