Organic photovoltaic device fabrication and optimization

• Main Author: Dale, Barnard
• Other Authors: Tang Xiaohong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Electric power::Auxiliaries, applications and electric industries
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/60399
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This report is the culmination of two semesters’ work both here at NTU and at the Institute for Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) as part of my Final Year Project (FYP). Organic Photovoltaic Solar Cells (OPSCs), if fully developed and successfully commercialised have many advantages over their silicon based cousins. They are cheaper, can be made without rare earth metals and are more versatile. As a result research into OSPC’s has been almost exponentially increasing since 1986 . While advances have been made in the OSPCs, high and very-high efficiency cells have been made in specialised environs, requiring specialist equipment for fabrication. As such many attempts to convert these cells into commercially viable variants have failed, or, have succeeded with impaired cell efficiencies. For this reason IMRE and others have begun to look at how current approaches to organic photovoltaic production (OPV) can be modified to allow for easier commercialisation at a later date. This report details the construction and characterisation of OPSC’s using both standard methods such as spin-coating and thermal vacuum deposition and novel methods such as blade and spray coating as well as screen-printing for the electrodes. The feasibility of these novel approaches is evaluated before Blade-coated cells are compared with spin-coated variants. These novel processes lend themselves well to solution based roll-to-roll fabrication. They can be readily and quickly applied in air and are thus ideal for mass production if their inherent problems can be overcome. In this report Organic Photovoltaic Cells (OPVCs) were produced in batches of four upon a single substrate layer. Various concentrations of P3HT:PC60BM were used as the acceptor/donor blend while different fabrication techniques and their parameters were altered to attempt to prove the feasibility of the aforementioned methods and then optimise them. Ultimately this report will show that while these novel methods are viable, the results achieved are still much lower than those achieved using traditional techniques.