In Focus: Organic PV Cells

http://www.solarfeeds.com/ecofriend/16562-in-focus-organic-pv-cells Wednesday, 20 April 2011 EcoFriend

What is it? A photovoltaic cell designed to use organic electronics is known as an organic photovoltaic cell. Organic electronics is a branch of electronics which involves the study of organic polymers and molecules that act as conductor of electricity used to absorb light and transport electricity through it. An organic photovoltaic cell is abbreviated as OPVC. Even the high volume of manufacturing plastic has very low cost. Combining plastic with flexible organic molecules makes it potentially profitable for photovoltaic applications. With the help of chemical and molecular engineering, this material is refined to fulfill the gap of energy. The organic

molecules have a property to absorb high amount of light resulting into absorbing large amount light with small amount of material. The main drawback of organic photovoltaic cells is low stability, low efficiency and low strength as compared to inorganic photovoltaic cells. Trends Nanostructured Photovoltaic Cells This project is laid down to make efficient photovoltaic (PV) cells using semiconducting polymers that could be dumped in reel-to-reel coaters. It is required to perform vigilant analysis and optimization of each process occurring in bulk hetero junction PV cells based on which organic and inorganic semiconductors devices will be created based on ordered interpenetrating networks. This research will lead to devices that will be capable of transmitting a charge to electrodes. These devices will have better packing of molecules in organic semiconductors increasing its ability to carry charge with modified organic-inorganic interface to stop recombination of electrons and holes. Hopefully, the charge recombination in the cells will be almost nullified with efficient energy conversion in the range of 10-15%.

Large-area roll-to-roll manufacturing of printed electronics and functional films The ability to print or deposit organic and inorganic molecules in large areas gives novel possibilities for range of applications for large area organic photovoltaic, functional films and printed electronics. A team of A*STAR engineers and scientists are working to find out several manufacturing process challenges as a part of a scale-up project carried out by the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology. The scale-up project is guided by the team of Albert Lu, who is senior scientist and program manager for the Large-Area Processing Program at SIMTech. Lu and his team are following disrupting technology of roll-to-roll manufacturing of organic and inorganic printable functional materials. The process derived from this research can be used for mass-production of both thin and thick film devices like batteries, sensors and photovoltaic cells. The research team is trying out at how ink molecules can be dumped with maximum efficiency on flexible substrates with a width of 1 meter. They are also inspecting the processes for embossing, patterning and laminating functional films along with other techniques for web inspection and mechatronics. Unlike conventional electronic circuit fabrication that involves batch processing of wafers, the large-area processing system involves new ways to harvest light with low-cost photovoltaic materials, according to Physorg.com.

Trapping photons with nanostructures According to Lu, organic materials are very capable for photovoltaic application, however, it will not be capable enough to take place of silicon. The fact is research to make use of silicon more and more effectively is already going on. Navab Singh, who is the main investigator at A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics of Nano Electronics & Photonics Program, is involved in making microelectronic tweaks to improve silicon utility in photovoltaics. Typical solar cells using silicon are made up of two layers of silicon n-type and p-type brought together to form an electronic junction. The electrical current is generated when light reaches silicon, releasing free electrons and hole pairs within a short distance from the junction interface. In classic structure, the number of electron and hole pairs that participate in power generation is comparatively low due to absorption and reflection of light occuring away from the junction. To overcome this limitation, Mr. Singh and his team of researchers are trying to insert hundred of silicon nanosized photovoltaic pillars on silicon surface. With this nanopillar technology, Singh and his team has successfully demonstrated high current density which was first achieved with nanostructured silicon solar cells. Still, this process is undergoing further refinement for better performance. The issue of how to design photovoltaic devices making full use of solar

energy is still under active discussion. Such application intends to design multiple junctions with various silicon alloy materials and designing structures favoring multiple electrons.

Ordered Nanostructures for Organic Photovoltaic cells Though potentially a source of clean, renewable energy at a cost even lower than conventional power, organic solar cells are at present far too inefficient. The leading strategy for making efficient organic cells is to create nanoscale ordered bulk heterojunctions. According to Singh, In this work, we used Nanosphere Lithography and Block Copolymer Lithography as methods to pattern Cr nano-dots on Si for use as masks during reactive ion etching (RIE). With these techniques we were able to produce arrays of Si pillars on the order of 120 nm tall and 20 nm wide, which are very close to the ideal length scale. Devices employing these nanostructure substrates have not yet been tested, but exciton splitting, charge collection and overall cell efficiency are expected to be improved. In the near future, devices utilizing these structures in the heterojunction will be made and tested. Additionally, the entire process of making the pillars and devices should be optimized to maximize efficiency. Ultimately, this knowledge and technology may need to be transferred to some material other than Si, such as titanium. The Benefits The benefits and limitation of organic photovoltaic can be better understood in terms of material properties. The basic building block of silicon solar cells is the atom while that of organic cells is the molecule (which is collection of well-defined group of atom). This basic difference has most of the implication on the performance of organic solar cells. Molecules which are larger than atoms makes task easier to work with. Due to this, it becomes easier to make new designs with molecules; almost anything can be formed with molecules. On the other hand, it is difficult process to entirely make new material from atom. The numbers of molecules that are used in an organic cell are limited by the imagination of synthetic chemist, which means that organic solar cells can be custom-made for a particular need or application.

For example, Konarka located in Massachusetts can manufacture cells with variety of color schemes, including cells that are cloaked for their military customers. The researchers have a hope that molecules can be designed and developed more effectively with vigilant design and repeated tweaks to meet three basic criteria required to create successful solar cell: efficiency, cost and long life. Benefit of organic solar photovoltaic cells is opening of entirely new industry of photovoltaic. For example, Merck, BASF and Dow have recognized that with large scale manufacturing of organic solar cells can give them potential market for their products. These companies have committed considerable funds and manpower to encourage the development of organic photovoltaic research to ensure their place in future market. The ability of organic photovoltaic to choose the molecule that absorbs solar light efficiently is another benefit of this technology. Due to this, organic solar cells can be designed and developed 1000 times thinner than silicon solar cells resulting into minimum use of material. Due to its minimum thickness, this cells are flexible that could be printed on roll-to-roll process that is transported easily and simply unrolled on customers roof. Along with others, Konarka is also developing cells which can be used in clothes and tents. The Downsides The electrical charges should be able to travel quickly and efficiently to extract electricity from solar cells. If they are incapable to exhibit this efficiency they are likely to stuck or recombine with other charges and disappear altogether. Due to this, the number of useful electrical charges required to work like recharging battery diminishes. This is merely impossible to get charges out of silicon solar cell because atoms are carefully arranges into crystals makes charges fly between them at comparatively higher speed. However, molecules are comparatively less ordered, especially when printed as a result of which charges flow at lower speed. To make problem more acute, the molecules hold into charge very tightly reluctant to pass charge to their neighbors. Due to this electricity cannot flow easily making the limitation of an organic solar cell. Even the more depressing problem is not only getting electrical charges out of organic solar

cells but also a problem of generating them. Solar cell absorbs solar light to gain energy, but in this uncomfortable state, it tries to discharge that energy. Ideally this happens as a result of generating two charges but it merely throws this energy away as heat. Solar cells are designed to overcome first problem: as it consists of two doped regions that attract positive and negative charges while organic cells tries to give same effect using two different types of molecules. The process transforming sunlight into electricity is very efficient in silicon, while it is less in organic cells. Besides poor generation and extraction of electrical charges the further lack of efficiency of organic photovoltaic is its life. The material that uses atoms generally last for long time, while in comparison with material made from molecules typically react with other molecules like oxygen and water which diminishes its life. In this condition, molecules might absorb less light or generate few charges or actually trap charges and stop them from being collected. This characteristic is regrettable but ironic fact is that molecules tend to degrade in this way before they are illuminated. Impacts The successful commercialized application of solar energy is based on three main criteria: efficiency, cost and life. However, the initial excitement in organic photovoltaics was the expectation was being very cheap application. First, chemical manufacturing companies already develop organic molecules by kiloton at quite a reasonable cost. Second, making an organic solar cell is merely messy as compared to making of silicon solar cells. However, efficiency and life are also like obstinate thorns in the side that advocates organic photovoltaic: efficiency waivers around 5%. Ironically, organic material tends to degrade in light. The establishments any new technology in the market has to overcome lot of hurdles before the finished products get introduced in the market. However, the excitement is growing worldwide with the evidences to the potential organic photovoltaic; with an alliance with German government, Bosh, BASF among others who recently declared the organic photovoltaics research program to fund in the amount of US $570 million. Organic Photovoltaic has to complete journey competing with silicon; however, it would open niche

markets with serious backing which would be surprising if anybody fails to make money from molecules at some point.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_solar_cell

Organic solar cell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Polymer solar cell. (Discuss) Proposed since August 2010.

An organic photovoltaic cell (OPVC) is a photovoltaic cell that uses organic electronics--a branch of electronics that deals with conductive organic polymers or small organic molecules[1] for light absorption and charge transport. The plastic itself has low production costs in high volumes. Combined with the flexibility of organic molecules, this makes it potentially lucrative for photovoltaic applications. Molecular engineering (e.g. changing the length and functional group of polymers) can change the energy gap, which allows chemical change in these materials. The optical absorption coefficient of organic molecules is high, so a large amount of light can be absorbed with a small amount of materials. The main disadvantages associated with organic photovoltaic cells are low efficiency, low stability and low strength compared to inorganic photovoltaic cells.

Contents
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1 Organic photovoltaic materials 2 Types of junctions for OPVC

2.1 Single layer organic photovoltaic cell 2.1.1 Examples 2.1.2 Problems o 2.2 Bilayer organic photovoltaic cells 2.2.1 Examples 2.2.2 Problems o 2.3 Bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells 2.3.1 Examples 3 Current challenges and recent progress o 3.1 Effect of film morphology o 3.2 Controlled growth heterojunction o 3.3 Progress in growth techniques o 3.4 Vacuum thermal evaporation o 3.5 Organic vapor phase deposition 3.5.1 Organic solar ink 4 See also 5 References
o

6 Further reading

[edit] Organic photovoltaic materials

Fig 1: Examples of organic photovoltaic materials

A photovoltaic cell is a specialized semiconductor diode that converts visible light into direct current (DC) electricity. Some photovoltaic cells can also convert infrared (IR) or ultraviolet (UV) radiation into DC. A common characteristic of both the small molecules and polymers (Fig 1) used in photovoltaics is that they all have large conjugated systems. A conjugated system is formed where carbon atoms covalently bond with alternating single and double bonds, in other words these are chemical reactions of hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons electrons pz orbitals delocalize and form a delocalized bonding orbital with a * antibonding orbital. The delocalized orbital is the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), and the * orbital is the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). The separation

between HOMO and LUMO is considered as the band gap of organic electronic materials. The band gap is typically in the range of 1-4 eV.[2] When these materials absorb a photon, an excited state is created and confined to a molecule or a region of a polymer chain. The excited state can be regarded as an electron hole pair bound together by electrostatic interactions, i.e. excitons. In photovoltaic cells, excitons are broken up into free electrons-hole pairs by effective fields. The effective field are set up by creating a heterojunction between two dissimilar materials. Effective fields break up excitons by causing the electron to fall from the conduction band of the absorber to the conduction band of the acceptor molecule. It is necessary that the acceptor material has a conduction band edge that is lower than that of the absorber material.[3][4][5][6]

[edit] Types of junctions for OPVC

[edit] Single layer organic photovoltaic cell

Fig 2: Sketch of a single layer organic photovoltaic cell

Single layer organic photovoltaic cells are the simplest form among various organic photovoltaic cells. These cells are made by sandwiching a layer of organic electronic materials between two metallic conductors, typically a layer of indium tin oxide (ITO) with high work function and a layer of low work function metal such as Al, Mg and Ca. The basic structure of such a cell is illustrated in Fig 2.

The difference of work function between the two conductors sets up an electric field in the organic layer. When the organic layer absorbs light, electrons will be excited to Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) and leave holes in the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) forming excitons. The potential created by the different work functions helps to separate the exciton pairs, pulling electrons to the positive electrode (an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit) and holes to the negative electrode. The current and voltage resulting from this process can be used to do work. Using electric fields is not the best way to break up excitons, heterojunction based cells which rely on effective fields are more effective.[3][4][5]
[edit] Examples

Cells with phthalocyanine (Fig 1) as organic layer were investigated at the early stage. As early as 1958, Kearns et al. reported the photovoltaic effector the creation of voltage of a cell based on magnesium phthalocyanine a macrocyclic compound having an alternating nitrogen atom-carbon atom ring structure (MgPh), which had a photovoltage of 200mV.[7] Ghosh et al. investigated the Al/MgPh/Ag cell, and obtained photovoltaic efficiency of 0.01% under illumination at 690 nm.[8] Conjugated polymers were also used in this type of photovoltaic cell. Weinberger et al. used polyacetylene (Fig 1) as the organic layer, Al and graphite as electrodes to fabricate a cell, which had an open circuit voltage of 0.3 V and a charge collection efficiency of 0.3%.[9] Glenis et al. reported a Al/poly(3-nethyl-thiophene)/Pt cell had an external quantum yield of 0.17%, an open circuit voltage of 0.4V and a fill factor of 0.3.[10] Karg et al. fabricated an ITO/PPV/Al cell, showing an open circuit voltage of 1V and a power conversion efficiency of 0.1% under white-light illumination.[11]
[edit] Problems

In practice, single layer organic photovoltaic cells of this type do not work well. They have low quantum efficiencies (<1%) and low power conversion efficiencies (<0.1%). A major problem with them is the electric field resulting from the difference between the two conductive electrodes is seldom sufficient to break up the photogenerated excitons. Often the

electrons recombine with the holes rather than reach the electrode. To deal with this problem, the multilayer organic photovoltaic cells were developed.
[edit] Bilayer organic photovoltaic cells

Fig 3: Sketch of a multilayer organic photovoltaic cell.

This type of organic photovoltaic cell contains two different layers in between the conductive electrodes (Fig 3). These two layers of materials have differences in electron affinity and ionization energy, therefore electrostatic forces are generated at the interface between the two layers. The materials are chosen properly to make the differences large enough, so these local electric fields are strong, which may break up the excitons much more efficiently than the single layer photovoltaic cells do. The layer with higher electron affinity and ionization potential is the electron acceptor, and the other layer is the electron donor. This structure is also called planar donor-acceptor heterojunctions.[3][4][5][6]
[edit] Examples

C60 has high electron affinity, making it a good material as electron acceptor in photovoltaic cells of this type. Sariciftci et al. fabricated a C60/MEH-PPV double layer cell, which had a relatively high fill factor of 0.48 and a power conversion efficiency of 0.04% under monochromatic illumination.[12] For PPV/C60 cells, Halls et al. reported a monochromatic external quantum efficiency of 9%, a power conversion efficiency of 1% and a fill factor of 0.48.[13]

Perylene derivatives are a group of organic molecules with high electron affinity and chemical stability. Ching W. Tang deposited a layer of copper phthalcocyanine as electron donor and perylene tetracarboxylic derivative as electron acceptor, fabricating a cell with a fill factor as high as 0.65 and a power conversion efficiency of 1% under simulated AM2 illumination.[14] Halls et al. fabricated a cell with a layer of bis(phenethylimido) perylene over a layer of PPV as the electron donor. This cell had peak external quantum efficiency of 6% and power conversion efficiency of 1% under monochromatic illumination, and the fill factor is up to 0.6.[15]
[edit] Problems

The diffusion length of excitons in organic electronic materials is typically on the order of 10 nm. In order for most excitons to diffuse to the interface of layers and break up into carriers, the layer thickness should also be in the same range with the diffusion length. However, typically a polymer layer needs a thickness of at least 100 nm to absorb enough light. At such a large thickness, only a small fraction of the excitons can reach the heterojunction interface. To address this problem, a new type of heterojunction photovoltaic cells is designed, which is the dispersed heterojunction photovoltaic cells.
[edit] Bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells

Fig 4: Sketch of a dispersed junction photovoltaic cell

In this type of photovoltaic cell, the electron donor and acceptor are mixed together, forming a polymer blend (Fig 4). If the length scale of the blend is similar with the exciton diffusion length, most of the excitons generated in either material may reach the interface, where excitons break efficiently.

Electrons move to the acceptor domains then were carried through the device and collected by one electrode, and holes were pulled in the opposite direction and collected at the other side.[4][5][7]
[edit] Examples

C60 and its derivatives are also used as electron acceptor in the dispersed heterojunction photovoltaic cells. Yu et al. fabricated a cell with the blend of MEH-PPV and a methano-functionalized C60 derivative as the heterojunction, ITO and Ca as the electrodes.[16] This cell showed a quantum efficiency of 29% and a power conversion efficiency of 2.9% under monochromatic illumination. Later they replaced MEH-PPV with P3OT, which obtained a cell with a quantum yield of 45% under a 10V reverse bias.[17][18] Polymer/polymer blends are also used in dispersed heterojunction photovoltaic cells. Halls et al. used a blend of CN-PPV and MEH-PPV, fabricated a cell with Al and ITO as the electrodes, whose peak monochromatic power conversion efficiency is 1% and fill factor is 0.38.[19]
[20]

Dye sensitized photovoltaic cells can also be considered as important ones of this type.

[edit] Current challenges and recent progress

Difficulties associated with organic photovoltaic cells include their low quantum efficiency (~3%) in comparison with inorganic photovoltaic devices; due largely to the large band gap of organic materials. Instabilities against oxidation and reduction, recrystallization and temperature variations can also lead to device degradation and decreased performance over time. This occurs to different extents for devices with different compositions, and is an area into which active research is taking place.[21] Other important factors include the exciton diffusion length; charge separation and charge collection; and charge transport and mobility, which are affected by the presence of impurities.
[edit] Effect of film morphology

Fig 5a: Highly folded Hetero-junction; 5b: Hetero-junction with controlled growth

As described in section 2.3, dispersed heterojunction of donor-acceptor organic materials have high quantum efficiency compared to the planar hetero-junction, because it is more likely for an exciton to find an interface within its diffusion length. Film morphology can also have a drastic effect on the quantum efficiency of the device. Rough surfaces and presence of voids can increase the series resistance and also the chance of short circuiting. Film morphology and as a result quantum efficiency can be improved by annealing of a device after covering it by ~1000 thick metal cathode. Metal film on top of the organic film applies stresses on the organic film, which helps to prevent the morphological relaxation in the organic film. This gives more densely packed films while at the same time allows the formation of phaseseparated interpenetrating donor-acceptor interface inside the bulk of organic thin film.[22]
[edit] Controlled growth heterojunction

Charge separation occurs at the donor acceptor interface. Whilst traveling to the electrode, a charge can become trapped and/or recombine in a disordered interpenetrating organic material, resulting in decreased device efficiency. Controlled growth of the heterojunction provides better control over positions of the donor-acceptor materials, resulting in much greater power efficiency (ratio of output power to input power) than that of planar and highly disoriented hetero-junctions (as shown in Fig 5(a), (b)). Thus, the choice of suitable processing parameters in order to better control the structure and film morphology is highly desirable.[23]
[edit] Progress in growth techniques

Mostly organic films for photovoltaic applications are deposited by spin coating and vapor-phase deposition. However each method has certain draw backs, spin coating technique can coat larger surface areas with high speed but the use of solvent for one layer can degrade the already existing polymer layer. Another problem is related with the patterning of the substrate for device as spin-coating results in coating the entire substrate with a single material.

[edit] Vacuum thermal evaporation

Fig 6a: Vapor thermal evaporation

Another deposition technique is "Vacuum thermal evaporation" (VTE) which involves the heating of an organic material in vacuum. The substrate is placed several centimeters away from the source so that evaporated material may be directly deposited onto the substrate, as shown in Fig 6(a). This method is useful for depositing many layers of different materials without chemical interaction between different layers. However, there are sometimes problems with film-thickness uniformity and uniform doping over large-area substrates. In addition, the materials that deposit on the wall of the chamber can contaminate later depositions. This is "line of sight" technique also can create holes in the film due to shadowing, which causes an increase in the device series-resistance and short circuit.[24]
[edit] Organic vapor phase deposition

Organic thin film grown from "Organic vapor phase deposition" (OVPD) is proven to give better control on the structure and morphology of the film than vacuum thermal evaporation. The process involves evaporation of the organic material over a substrate in the presence of an inert carrier gas. Resulting film morphology can be changed by changing the gas flow rate and the source temperature. Uniform film can be grown by reducing the carrier gas pressure, which will increase the velocity and mean free path of the gas, and as a result boundary layer thickness decreases. Cells produced by OVPD do not have

issues related with contaminations from the flakes coming out of the walls of the chamber, as the walls are warm and do not allow molecules to stick to and produce a film upon them. Another advantage over VTE is the uniformity in evaporation rate. This occurs because the carrier gas becomes saturated with the vapors of the organic material coming out of the source and then moves towards the cooled substrate, Fig6(b). Depending on the growth parameters (temperature of the source, base pressure and flux of the carrier gas) the deposited film can be crystalline or amorphous in nature. Devices fabricated using OVPD show a higher short-circuit current density than that of devices made using VTE. An extra layer of donor-acceptor hetero-junction at the top of the cell may block excitons, whilst allowing conduction of electron; resulting in improved cell efficiency.[24]
[edit] Organic solar ink

Plextronics Plexcore PV 2000 organic solar ink is able to deliver higher performance in fluorescent lighting conditions in comparison to amorphous silicon solar cells, and said to have a 30% to 40% increase in indoor power density in comparison to the standard organic solar technology. [25] Plextronics has also developed a manufacturing method that allows for lowtemperature processing of OPV. While previous industry standard techniques required a glass substrate to be annealed at temperatures at or above 110 C, this method enables annealing at less than 65 C. It is expected to reduce manufacturing costs as it may enable the use of less expensive substrates, especially once the process is transferred to flexible substrates such as plastic.

[edit] See also

Dch Hu c t bo nng lng mt tri

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wikipedia, bch khoa ton th min ph Jump to: navigation , search Bc ti: chuyn hng , tm kim It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Polymer solar cell . N c gi rng bi vit ny hoc phn c sp nhp vi Polymer t bo nng lng mt tri . ( Discuss ) Proposed since August 2010. ( Tho lun ) xut k t thng 8 nm 2010 .

An organic photovoltaic cell (OPVC) is a photovoltaic cell that uses organic electronics --a branch of electronics that deals with conductive organic polymers or small organic molecules [ 1 ] for light absorption and charge transport. Mt t bo quang in hu c (OPVC) l mt t bo quang in s dng in t hu c - mt chi nhnh ca cc thit b in t giao dch vi polymer dn in hu c hoc cc phn t hu c nh [1] cho s hp th nh sng v ph vn chuyn. The plastic itself has low production costs in high volumes. Nha t n c chi ph sn xut thp vi khi lng cao. Combined with the flexibility of organic molecules , this makes it potentially lucrative for photovoltaic applications. Kt hp vi tnh linh hot ca cc phn t hu c, iu ny lm cho n c kh nng sinh li cho cc ng dng quang in. Molecular engineering (eg changing the length and functional group of polymers ) can change the energy gap, which allows chemical change in these materials. Phn t k thut (v d nh thay i chiu di v nhm chc nng ca polymer ) c th thay i khong cch nng lng, cho php thay i ha hc trong cc ti liu ny . The optical absorption coefficient of organic molecules is high, so a large amount of light can be absorbed with a small amount of materials. H s hp th quang hc ca cc phn t hu c cao, do

, mt lng ln nh sng c th c hp th mt lng nh vt liu. The main disadvantages associated with organic photovoltaic cells are low efficiency , low stability and low strength compared to inorganic photovoltaic cells. Nhng kh khn chnh lin quan vi cc t bo quang in hu c hiu qu thp, n nh v sc mnh thp so vi cc t bo quang in v c.

Contents Ni dung
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1 Organic photovoltaic materials 1 vt liu quang in hu c 2 Types of junctions for OPVC 2 Cc loi ca cc mi ni cho OPVC o 2.1 Single layer organic photovoltaic cell 2,1 mt lp t bo quang in hu c 2.1.1 Examples 2.1.1 V d 2.1.2 Problems 2.1.2 vn o 2.2 Bilayer organic photovoltaic cells 2,2 Bilayer t bo quang in hu c 2.2.1 Examples 2.2.1 V d 2.2.2 Problems 2.2.2 vn o 2.3 Bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells 2,3 s lng ln cc t bo quang in heterojunction 2.3.1 Examples 2.3.1 V d 3 Current challenges and recent progress 3 thch thc v tin b gn y o 3.1 Effect of film morphology 3.1 Hiu qu ca hnh thi phim o 3.2 Controlled growth heterojunction 3,2 kim sot tng trng heterojunction o 3.3 Progress in growth techniques 3.3 Tin b trong k thut tng trng o 3.4 Vacuum thermal evaporation 3,4 bc hi chn khng nhit o 3.5 Organic vapor phase deposition 3.5 hu c hi giai on lng ng 3.5.1 Organic solar ink 3.5.1 mc nng lng mt tri hu c 4 See also 4 Xem 5 References 5 Ti liu tham kho 6 Further reading 6 c thm

[ edit ] Organic photovoltaic materials [ sa ] Cc vt liu quang in hu c

Fig 1: Examples of organic photovoltaic materials Hnh 1: V d ca cc vt liu quang in hu c

A photovoltaic cell is a specialized semiconductor diode that converts visible light into direct current (DC) electricity. Mt t bo quang in l mt diode bn dn chuyn ngnh c th chuyn i nh sng c th nhn thy vo in trc tip (DC) hin ti. Some photovoltaic cells can also convert infrared (IR) or ultraviolet (UV) radiation into DC. Mt s t bo quang in cng c th chuyn i bc x hng ngoi (IR) hoc tia cc tm (UV) vo DC. A common characteristic of both the small molecules and polymers (Fig 1) used in photovoltaics is that they all have large conjugated systems . c im chung ca cc phn t nh v polyme (Hnh 1) c s dng trong quang in l h tt c u c ln cc h thng lin hp . A conjugated system is formed where carbon atoms covalently bond with alternating single and double bonds, in other words these are chemical reactions of hydrocarbons. Mt h thng lin hp c hnh thnh carbon nguyn t lin kt cng ha tr tri phiu vi xen k tri phiu duy nht v tng gp i, ni cch khc y l nhng phn ng ha hc ca hydrocacbon. These hydrocarbons electrons pz orbitals delocalize and form a delocalized bonding orbital with a * antibonding orbital. Nhng hydrocarbon in t PZ qu o delocalize v hnh thnh mt lin kt delocalized qu o vi mt * antibonding qu o. The delocalized orbital is the highest occupied molecular orbital ( HOMO ), and the * orbital is the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital ( LUMO ). delocalized qu o chim cao nht phn t qu o ( HOMO ),

v qu o * l thp nht trng phn t qu o ( LUMO ). The separation between HOMO and LUMO is considered as the band gap of organic electronic materials. S tch bit gia HOMO v LUMO c xem nh l khong cch ban nhc ca cc vt liu in t hu c. The band gap is typically in the range of 1-4 eV. [ 2 ] Khong cch ban nhc thng trong khong t 1-4 eV [2] When these materials absorb a photon , an excited state is created and confined to a molecule or a region of a polymer chain. Khi cc vt liu ny hp th mt photon , mt trng thi kch thch c to ra v gii hn trong mt phn t hoc mt khu vc ca mt chui polymer. The excited state can be regarded as an electron hole pair bound together by electrostatic interactions, ie excitons . Cc trng thi kch thch c th c coi l mt cp l in t b rng buc vi nhau bng cch tng tc in, tc l excitons . In photovoltaic cells, excitons are broken up into free electrons-hole pairs by effective fields. Trong t bo quang in, excitons chia cp electron-l vo min ph bng cc lnh vc c hiu qu. The effective field are set up by creating a heterojunction between two dissimilar materials. Lnh vc c hiu qu c thit lp bng cch to ra mt heterojunction gia hai vt liu khc nhau. Effective fields break up excitons by causing the electron to fall from the conduction band of the absorber to the conduction band of the acceptor molecule. Cc lnh vc c hiu qu ph v excitons bng cch gy ra cc electron ri t vng dn ca cht hp th vng dn ca phn t chp nhn. It is necessary that the acceptor material has a conduction band edge that is lower than that of the absorber material. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] iu cn thit l cc vt liu chp nhn c mt li th cnh vng dn thp hn ca vt liu hp th [3]
[4] [5] [6]

[ edit ] Types of junctions for OPVC [ sa ] Cc loi ca cc mi ni cho OPVC

[ edit ] Single layer organic photovoltaic cell [ sa ] Mt lp t bo quang in hu c

Fig 2: Sketch of a single layer organic photovoltaic cell Hnh 2: Phc tho ca mt t bo quang in hu c duy nht lp

Single layer organic photovoltaic cells are the simplest form among various organic photovoltaic cells. T bo lp quang in hu c duy nht l hnh thc n gin gia cc t bo quang in hu c khc nhau. These cells are made by sandwiching a layer of organic electronic materials between two metallic conductors, typically a layer of indium tin oxide (ITO) with high work function and a layer of low work function metal such as Al, Mg and Ca. Nhng t bo ny c thc hin bng cch kp mt lp vt liu in t hu c gia hai dy dn kim loi, thng l mt lp indium tin oxide (ITO) vi chc nng lm vic cao v mt lp kim loi thp chc nng lm vic nh Al, Mg v Ca. The basic structure of such a cell is illustrated in Fig 2. Cc cu trc c bn ca t bo nh c minh ha trong Hnh 2. The difference of work function between the two conductors sets up an electric field in the organic layer. S khc bit ca chc nng lm vic gia hai dy dn thit lp mt in trng trong lp hu c . When the organic layer absorbs light, electrons will be excited to Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) and leave holes in the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) forming excitons . Khi cc lp hu c hp th nh sng, in t s c kch thch thp nht vng Orbital phn t (LUMO) v li l hng trong T l cao nht chim phn t Orbital (HOMO) hnh thnh excitons . The potential created by the different work functions helps to separate the exciton pairs, pulling electrons to the positive electrode (an

electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit) and holes to the negative electrode. Tim nng to ra bi cc chc nng lm vic khc nhau gip tch cc cp exciton, ko in t in cc dng (mt vt dn in c s dng lin lc vi mt phn phi kim loi ca mt mch) v l cho cc in cc m . The current and voltage resulting from this process can be used to do work. Hin ti v in p t qu trnh ny c th c s dng lm vic. Using electric fields is not the best way to break up excitons, heterojunction based cells which rely on effective fields are more effective. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] S dng in trng khng phi l cch tt nht ph v ln excitons, heterojunction t bo da trn da vo cc lnh vc c hiu qu c hiu qu hn . [3 ] [4 ] [5 ]
[ edit ] Examples [ sa ] V d

Cells with phthalocyanine (Fig 1) as organic layer were investigated at the early stage. T bo vi phthalocyanine (Hnh 1) nh lp hu c c nghin cu giai on u. As early as 1958, Kearns et al. Nh vo u nm 1958, Kearns et al. reported the photovoltaic effector the creation of voltage of a cell based on magnesium phthalocyanine a macrocyclic compound having an alternating nitrogen atom-carbon atom ring structure (MgPh), which had a photovoltage of 200mV. [ 7 ] Ghosh et al. bo co cc phn ng quang in to ra in p ca mt t bo da trn magi phthalocyanine macrocyclic mt hp cht c cu trc vng mt nit xen k nguyn t carbon nguyn t (MgPh), trong c mt photovoltage 200mV. [7] Ghosh et al. investigated the Al/MgPh/Ag cell, and obtained photovoltaic efficiency of 0.01% under illumination at 690 nm. [ 8 ] iu tra cc t bo Al / MgPh / Ag, v thu c hiu qu quang in 0,01% c chiu sng ti 690 nm. [8] Conjugated polymers were also used in this type of photovoltaic cell. Polyme lin hp cng c s dng trong loi t bo quang in. Weinberger et al. Weinberger et al. used polyacetylene (Fig 1) as the organic layer, Al and graphite as electrodes to fabricate a cell, which had an open circuit voltage of 0.3 V and a charge collection efficiency of 0.3%. [ 9 ] Glenis et al. polyacetylene s dng (Hnh 1) nh cc lp hu c, Al v than ch lm in cc ch to mt t bo, trong c mt in p mch m l 0,3 V v hiu qu thu ph l 0,3 %. [ 9] Glenis et al. reported a Al/poly(3-nethylthiophene)/Pt cell had an external quantum yield of 0.17%, an open circuit voltage of 0.4V and a fill factor of 0.3. [ 10 ] Karg et al. bo co mt t bo Al /

poly (3-nethyl-thiophene) / Pt c nng sut lng t bn ngoi 0,17%, mt in p mch m ca 0.4V v yu t in 0,3 . [10 ] Karg et al . fabricated an ITO/PPV/Al cell, showing an open circuit voltage of 1V and a power conversion efficiency of 0.1% under white-light illumination. [ 11 ] ch to mt t bo ITO / PPV / Al, hin th mt in p mch m ca 1V v chuyn i nng lng hiu qu ca 0,1% di nh sng chiu sng trng [11]
[ edit ] Problems [ sa ] Vn

In practice, single layer organic photovoltaic cells of this type do not work well. Trong thc t, cc t bo quang in lp hu c duy nht ca loi hnh ny khng lm vic tt. They have low quantum efficiencies (<1%) and low power conversion efficiencies (<0.1%). H c hiu sut lng t thp (<1%) v hiu qu nng lng chuyn i thp (<0,1%). A major problem with them is the electric field resulting from the difference between the two conductive electrodes is seldom sufficient to break up the photogenerated excitons. Mt vn ln vi h l lnh vc in l h qu t s khc bit gia hai in cc dn in l him khi ph v cc excitons photogenerated. Often the electrons recombine with the holes rather than reach the electrode. Thng ti kt hp electron vi cc l hn l tip cn cc in cc. To deal with this problem, the multilayer organic photovoltaic cells were developed. i ph vi vn ny, cc t bo quang in hu c a lp c pht trin.
[ edit ] Bilayer organic photovoltaic cells [ sa ] Bilayer t bo quang in hu c

Fig 3: Sketch of a multilayer organic photovoltaic cell. Hnh 3: Phc tho ca mt t bo quang in hu c a lp.

This type of organic photovoltaic cell contains two different layers in between the conductive electrodes (Fig 3). y l loi t bo quang in hu c c cha hai lp khc nhau trong gia cc in cc dn (Hnh 3). These two layers of materials have differences in electron affinity and ionization energy , therefore electrostatic forces are generated at the interface between the two layers. Hai lp vt liu c s khc bit trong mi quan h in t v nng lng ion ha , do lc lng in c to ra giao din gia hai lp. The materials are chosen properly to make the differences large enough, so these local electric fields are strong, which may break up the excitons much more efficiently than the single layer photovoltaic cells do. Cc vt liu c la chn ng cch lm cho s khc bit ln, do , cc lnh vc in a phng rt mnh, c th ph v cc excitons nhiu hn na hiu qu hn so vi cc t bo quang in lp duy nht. The layer with higher electron affinity and ionization potential is the electron acceptor, and the other layer is the electron donor. Cc lp vi i lc in t cao hn v tim nng ion ha l nhn in t, v cc lp khc l nh ti tr in t. This structure is also called planar donor-acceptor heterojunctions. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] Cu trc ny cn c gi l phng cc nh ti tr chp nhn heterojunctions. [3] [4] [5] [6]
[ edit ] Examples [ sa ] V d

C 60 has high electron affinity, making it a good material as electron acceptor in photovoltaic cells of this type. C 60 c i lc electron cao, lm cho n mt vt liu tt nh nhn in t trong cc t bo quang in ca loi ny. Sariciftci et al. Sariciftci et al. fabricated a C 60 /MEH-PPV double layer cell, which had a relatively high fill factor of 0.48 and a power conversion efficiency of 0.04% under monochromatic illumination. [ 12 ] For PPV/C 60 cells, Halls et al. ch to mt C 60 / MEH-PPV t bo lp kp, trong c mt yu t in tng i cao 0,48 v chuyn i nng lng hiu qu 0,04% di nh sng n sc . [12 ] i vi PPV / C 60 t bo, Halls et al. reported a monochromatic external quantum efficiency of 9%, a power conversion efficiency of 1% and a fill factor of 0.48. [ 13 ] bo co mt lng t bn ngoi n sc hiu qu ca 9%, chuyn i nng lng hiu qu ca 1% v h s lp y ca 0,48 [13]

Perylene derivatives are a group of organic molecules with high electron affinity and chemical stability. Ching W. Tang deposited a layer of copper phthalcocyanine as electron donor and perylene tetracarboxylic derivative as electron acceptor, fabricating a cell with a fill factor as high as 0.65 and a power conversion efficiency of 1% under simulated AM2 illumination. [ 14 ] Halls et al. Dn xut Perylene l mt nhm cc phn t hu c vi i lc in t cao v n nh ha hc. Ching W. Tang lng ng mt lp ng phthalcocyanine nh cc nh ti tr in t v phi sinh tetracarboxylic perylene nh chp nhn in t, ch to mt t bo vi mt yu t lm cao l 0,65 v mt in chuyn i hiu qu ca 1% di nh sng m phng AM2. [14] Halls et al. fabricated a cell with a layer of bis(phenethylimido) perylene over a layer of PPV as the electron donor. ch to mt t bo vi mt lp bis perylene (phenethylimido) trn mt lp PPV nh cc nh ti tr in t. This cell had peak external quantum efficiency of 6% and power conversion efficiency of 1% under monochromatic illumination, and the fill factor is up to 0.6. [ 15 ] T bo ny c hiu qu cao im lng t bn ngoi ca 6% v hiu qu chuyn i nng lng ca 1% di nh sng n sc, v cc yu t lm ln n 0,6. [15]
[ edit ] Problems [ sa ] Vn

The diffusion length of excitons in organic electronic materials is typically on the order of 10 nm. Chiu di khuch tn excitons trong cc ti liu in t hu c thng l vo th t ca 10 nm. In order for most excitons to diffuse to the interface of layers and break up into carriers, the layer thickness should also be in the same range with the diffusion length. Trong trt t i vi hu ht cc excitons ph bin cho giao din ca lp v ph v thnh cc tu sn bay, dy lp cng phi trong phm vi tng t vi chiu di khuch tn. However, typically a polymer layer needs a thickness of at least 100 nm to absorb enough light. Tuy nhin, thng l mt lp polymer c dy t nht 100 nm hp th nh sng . At such a large thickness, only a small fraction of the excitons can reach the heterojunction interface. Ti mt dy ln nh vy, ch mt phn nh ca excitons c th t n giao din heterojunction. To address this problem, a new type of heterojunction photovoltaic cells is designed, which is the dispersed heterojunction photovoltaic cells. gii quyt vn ny, mt loi mi ca heterojunction

t bo quang in c thit k, l phn tn heterojunction t bo quang in.

[ edit ] Bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells [ sa ] cc t bo quang in hng lot heterojunction

Fig 4: Sketch of a dispersed junction photovoltaic cell Hnh 4: Phc tho ca mt t bo quang in ng ba phn tn

In this type of photovoltaic cell, the electron donor and acceptor are mixed together, forming a polymer blend (Fig 4). Trong loi t bo quang in, cc nh ti tr in t v chp nhn c trn ln vi nhau, to thnh mt s pha trn polymer (Hnh 4). If the length scale of the blend is similar with the exciton diffusion length, most of the excitons generated in either material may reach the interface, where excitons break efficiently. Nu quy m chiu di ca s pha trn tng t nh vi chiu di khuch tn exciton, hu ht cc excitons to ra trong vt liu hoc c th tip cn vi giao din, ni excitons ph v hiu qu. Electrons move to the acceptor domains then were carried through the device and collected by one electrode, and holes were pulled in the opposite direction and collected at the other side. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 7 ] Cc electron di chuyn n cc lnh vc chp nhn sau c tin hnh thng qua in thoi v c thu thp bi mt in cc, v l hng c ko theo hng ngc li v thu thp bn kia . [4 ] [5 ] [7 ]
[ edit ] Examples [ sa ] V d

C 60 and its derivatives are also used as electron acceptor in the dispersed heterojunction photovoltaic cells. C 60 v cc dn xut ca n cng c s dng nh nhn in t trong cc t bo quang in phn tn heterojunction .

Yu et al. Yu et al. fabricated a cell with the blend of MEH-PPV and a methano-functionalized C 60 derivative as the heterojunction, ITO and Ca as the electrodes. [ 16 ] This cell showed a quantum efficiency of 29% and a power conversion efficiency of 2.9% under monochromatic illumination. ch to mt t bo vi s pha trn ca MEH-PPV v mt methano functionalized C phi sinh 60, heterojunction ITO v Ca nh cc in cc. [16] di ng ny cho thy mt hiu qu lng t ca 29% v chuyn i nng lng hiu qu ca 2,9 % theo n sc chiu sng. Later they replaced MEH-PPV with P3OT, which obtained a cell with a quantum yield of 45% under a 10V reverse bias. [ 17 ] [ 18 ] Sau h thay th MEH-PPV P3OT, thu c mt t bo vi sn lng lng t ca 45% theo mt xu hng o ngc 10V. [17] [18] Polymer/polymer blends are also used in dispersed heterojunction photovoltaic cells. Polymer / hn hp polymer cng c s dng trong phn tn heterojunction t bo quang in. Halls et al. Halls et al. used a blend of CN-PPV and MEH-PPV, fabricated a cell with Al and ITO as the electrodes, whose peak monochromatic power conversion efficiency is 1% and fill factor is 0.38. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] s dng mt s pha trn ca CN-PPV v MEH-PPV, ch to mt t bo vi Al v ITO nh cc in cc, m nh cao hiu qu chuyn i nng lng n sc l 1% v yu t lm l 0,38 . [19 ] [20 ] Dye sensitized photovoltaic cells can also be considered as important ones of this type. Nhum t bo quang in nhy cm cng c th c coi l nhng ngi quan trng ca loi hnh ny.

[ edit ] Current challenges and recent progress [ sa ] Cc thch thc hin ti v tin b gn y
Difficulties associated with organic photovoltaic cells include their low quantum efficiency (~3%) in comparison with inorganic photovoltaic devices; due largely to the large band gap of organic materials. Nhng kh khn lin quan vi cc t bo quang in hu c bao gm hiu qu thp lng t ca h (~ 3%) so vi cc thit b quang in v c, ch yu l do khong cch ban nhc ln ca vt liu hu c. Instabilities against oxidation and reduction, recrystallization and temperature variations can also lead to device degradation and decreased performance over time. Bt n chng li qu trnh oxy ha, gim recrystallization v thay i nhit cng c th dn

n s xung cp thit b v gim hiu sut theo thi gian. This occurs to different extents for devices with different compositions, and is an area into which active research is taking place. [ 21 ] iu ny xy ra vi cc mc khc nhau cho cc thit b vi cc tc phm khc nhau, v l mt khu vc vo hot ng nghin cu ang din ra. [ 21] Other important factors include the exciton diffusion length; charge separation and charge collection; and charge transport and mobility, which are affected by the presence of impurities. Cc yu t quan trng khc bao gm chiu di khuch tn exciton, ph tch v thu ph v ph vn chuyn v di ng, b nh hng bi s hin din ca cc tp cht.
[ edit ] Effect of film morphology [ sa ] nh hng ca hnh thi phim Fig 5a: Highly folded Hetero-junction; 5b: Hetero-junction with controlled growth Hnh 5a: cao gp Hetero ng ba; 5b: Hetero-ng giao nhau vi tc tng trng c kim sot

As described in section 2.3, dispersed heterojunction of donor-acceptor organic materials have high quantum efficiency compared to the planar hetero-junction, because it is more likely for an exciton to find an interface within its diffusion length. Nh c m t trong phn 2.3, phn tn heterojunction chp nhn nh ti tr, vt liu hu c c hiu qu cao lng t so vi cc ng ba d phng, bi v n c nhiu kh nng cho mt exciton tm thy mt giao din trong phm vi chiu di khuch tn ca n . Film morphology can also have a drastic effect on the quantum efficiency of the device. Phim hnh thi hc cng c th c mt hiu ng mnh m v hiu qu lng t ca thit b. Rough surfaces and presence of voids can increase the series resistance and also the chance of short circuiting. B mt th rp v s hin din ca khong trng c th tng sc khng series v cng l c hi ca mch ngn. Film morphology and as a result quantum efficiency can be improved by annealing of a device after covering it by ~1000 thick metal cathode. Phim, hnh thi hc v mt hiu qu kt qu lng t c th c ci thin bng cch mt thit b sau khi bao gm ~ 1000A cathode kim loi dy. Metal film on top of the organic film applies stresses on the organic film, which helps to prevent the morphological relaxation in the organic film.

Kim loi phim trn u trang ca b phim hu c p dng nhn mnh vo b phim hu c, gip ngn chn cc hnh thi th gin trong b phim hu c. This gives more densely packed films while at the same time allows the formation of phase-separated interpenetrating donor-acceptor interface inside the bulk of organic thin film. [ 22 ] iu ny cho php cc b phim dy c hn trong khi ti cng mt thi gian cho php s hnh thnh ca giai on tch giao din nh ti tr chp nhn interpenetrating bn trong phn ln cc mng mng hu c. [22]
[ edit ] Controlled growth heterojunction [ sa ] kim sot tng trng heterojunction

Charge separation occurs at the donor acceptor interface. Ph tch xy ra ti giao din cc nh ti tr chp nhn. Whilst traveling to the electrode, a charge can become trapped and/or recombine in a disordered interpenetrating organic material, resulting in decreased device efficiency. Trong khi i du lch n in cc, mt khon ph c th tr thnh b mc kt v / hoc kt hp li trong mt vt liu hu c interpenetrating ri lon, dn n gim hiu qu thit b. Controlled growth of the heterojunction provides better control over positions of the donor-acceptor materials, resulting in much greater power efficiency (ratio of output power to input power) than that of planar and highly disoriented hetero-junctions (as shown in Fig 5(a), (b)). Kim sot s tng trng ca heterojunction cung cp kim sot tt hn v tr ca vt liu cc nh ti tr chp nhn, dn n hiu qu nng lng ln hn nhiu (t l sn lng in nng lng u vo) so vi phng v cao b mt phng hng d nt giao thng (nh trong hnh 5 (mt ), (b)). Thus, the choice of suitable processing parameters in order to better control the structure and film morphology is highly desirable. [ 23 ] Nh vy, s la chn cc thng s ch bin ph hp kim sot tt hn cu trc v hnh thi b phim l rt mong mun. [ 23]
[ edit ] Progress in growth techniques [ sa ] Tin b trong k thut tng trng

Mostly organic films for photovoltaic applications are deposited by spin coating and vapor-phase deposition. B phim ch yu l hu c cho cc ng dng quang in c gi bi lp ph quay v lng ng hi pha . However

each method has certain draw backs, spin coating technique can coat larger surface areas with high speed but the use of solvent for one layer can degrade the already existing polymer layer. Tuy nhin, mi phng php c mt s lng v, k thut quay ph c th o din tch b mt ln hn vi tc cao nhng s dng dung mi cho mt lp c th lm gim cc lp polymer tn ti. Another problem is related with the patterning of the substrate for device as spin-coating results in coating the entire substrate with a single material. Mt vn khc c lin quan vi khun mu ca cht nn cho thit b quay ph kt qu trong lp ph ton b b mt bng mt vt liu duy nht.
[ edit ] Vacuum thermal evaporation [ sa ] bc hi nhit chn khng

Fig 6a: Vapor thermal evaporation Hnh 6a: hi nhit bc hi

Another deposition technique is "Vacuum thermal evaporation" (VTE) which involves the heating of an organic material in vacuum. Mt k thut lng ng l "bc hi nhit chn khng" (thuyn tc huyt khi tnh mch) trong bao gm nhit ca mt vt liu hu c trong chn khng. The substrate is placed several centimeters away from the source so that evaporated material may be directly deposited onto the substrate, as shown in Fig 6(a). B mt c vi centimet i t ngun vt cht bay hi c th c gi trc tip ln b mt, nh th hin trong hnh 6 (a). This method is useful for depositing many layers of different materials without chemical interaction between different layers. Phng php ny rt hu ch cho vic gi nhiu lp vt liu khc nhau m khng c s tng tc ha hc gia cc lp khc nhau.

However, there are sometimes problems with film-thickness uniformity and uniform doping over large-area substrates. Tuy nhin, i khi c vn vi phim, dy ng nht v doping thng nht trn nn din tch ln. In addition, the materials that deposit on the wall of the chamber can contaminate later depositions. Ngoi ra, cc ti liu m tin gi trn cc bc tng ca cn phng c th lm nhim depositions sau. This is "line of sight" technique also can create holes in the film due to shadowing, which causes an increase in the device series-resistance and short circuit. [ 24 ] y l dng tm nhn "k thut cng c th to ra cc l hng trong cc b phim do bng, gy ra mt tng trong thit b lot khng v ngn mch . [24 ]
[ edit ] Organic vapor phase deposition [ sa ] pha hi hu c lng ng

Organic thin film grown from "Organic vapor phase deposition" (OVPD) is proven to give better control on the structure and morphology of the film than vacuum thermal evaporation. Mng mng hu c pht trin t "hu c lng ng pha hi" (OVPD) c chng minh cung cp cho kim sot tt hn v c cu v hnh thi ca b phim hn bc hi chn khng nhit. The process involves evaporation of the organic material over a substrate in the presence of an inert carrier gas. Qu trnh ny lin quan n vic bay hi ca cht hu c trn mt cht nn trong s hin din ca mt nh cung cp kh tr. Resulting film morphology can be changed by changing the gas flow rate and the source temperature. Kt qu l b phim hnh thi c th c thay i bng cch thay i t l lu lng kh v nhit ngun. Uniform film can be grown by reducing the carrier gas pressure, which will increase the velocity and mean free path of the gas, and as a result boundary layer thickness decreases. Thng nht b phim c th c pht trin bng cch gim p lc kh vn chuyn, m s lm tng vn tc v c ngha l ng dn kh, v nh mt ranh gii dy lp kt qu gim. Cells produced by OVPD do not have issues related with contaminations from the flakes coming out of the walls of the chamber, as the walls are warm and do not allow molecules to stick to and produce a film upon them. Cc t bo c sn xut bi OVPD khng c cc vn c lin quan vi nhim bn t mnh ca cc bc tng ca cn phng, nh cc bc tng c m p v khng cho php cc phn t dnh vo v sn xut mt b phim khi h.

Another advantage over VTE is the uniformity in evaporation rate. Mt li th hn thuyn tc huyt khi tnh mch l s thng nht t l bay hi. This occurs because the carrier gas becomes saturated with the vapors of the organic material coming out of the source and then moves towards the cooled substrate, Fig6(b). iu ny xy ra bi v kh nh cung cp dch v tr nn bo ha vi hi ca cc cht hu c ca ngun v sau di chuyn theo hng b mt lm mt bng, Fig6 (b). Depending on the growth parameters (temperature of the source, base pressure and flux of the carrier gas) the deposited film can be crystalline or amorphous in nature. Ty thuc vo cc thng s tng trng (nhit ca ngun, p lc c bn v thng lng ca cc kh nh cung cp dch v) b phim gi c th c kt tinh hoc v nh hnh trong t nhin. Devices fabricated using OVPD show a higher shortcircuit current density than that of devices made using VTE. Thit b ch to bng cch s dng OVPD hin th mt ngn mch cao hn hin ti hn so vi cc thit b s dng thuyn tc huyt khi tnh mch. An extra layer of donor-acceptor hetero-junction at the top of the cell may block excitons, whilst allowing conduction of electron; resulting in improved cell efficiency. [ 24 ] Thm mt lp chp nhn cc nh ti tr d ng ba pha trn ca t bo c th ngn chn excitons, trong khi cho php dn ca in t, kt qu ci thin hiu sut pin [ 24]
[ edit ] Organic solar ink [ sa ] mc nng lng mt tri hu c

Plextronics Plexcore PV 2000 organic solar ink is able to deliver higher performance in fluorescent lighting conditions in comparison to amorphous silicon solar cells, and said to have a 30% to 40% increase in indoor power density in comparison to the standard organic solar technology. [ 25 ] Plextronics Plexcore PV 2000 mc nng lng mt tri hu c l c th cung cp hiu sut cao hn trong iu kin nh sng hunh quang so vi silic v nh hnh cc t bo nng lng mt tri, v cho bit c mt s gia tng 30% n 40% mt nng lng trong nh so vi tiu chun cng ngh nng lng mt tri hu c . [ 25] Plextronics has also developed a manufacturing method that allows for lowtemperature processing of OPV. Plextronics cng pht trin mt phng php sn xut cho php x l nhit thp ca OPV. While previous

industry standard techniques required a glass substrate to be annealed at temperatures at or above 110 C, this method enables annealing at less than 65 C. It is expected to reduce manufacturing costs as it may enable the use of less expensive substrates, especially once the process is transferred to flexible substrates such as plastic . Trong khi ngnh cng nghip k thut tiu chun trc yu cu mt cht nn thy tinh c nhit trn 110 C, phng php ny cho php t hn 65 C. N c d kin s gim chi ph sn xut v n c th cho php vic s dng cc cht nn t tn km, c bit l khi qu trnh ny l chuyn giao nn do nh nha .

http://www.chem4all.vn/forums/showthread.php/12338-Organicphotovoltaic%28OPV%29-solar-cells-the-future-of-energy

Organic photovoltaic(OPV) solar cells: the future of energy

Abstract: Organic photovoltaic(OPV) cells are solar cells made mostly of organic molecules. The active layer of device is made of organic material. The main advantage of OPV is cheaper than other types of solar cells. Materials scientists continue to develop organic photovoltaic compounds for use in solar cells. These compounds include polymers with thienothiophene and benzodithiophene units along their chains, collectively given the acronym PTB. Some polymer compounds have achieved energy-conversion efficiency at rates of upwards of 8%, a figure that researchers are striving to improve as these compounds move toward viability as alternatives to inorganic materials. Introduction: An organic photovoltaic cell (OPVC) is a photovoltaic cell that uses organic electronics--a branch of electronics that deals with conductive organic polymers or small organic molecules [1] for light absorption and charge transport. The plastic itself has low production costs in high volumes. Combined with the flexibility of organic molecules, this makes it potentially lucrative for photovoltaic applications. Molecular engineering (e.g. changing the length and functional group of polymers) can change the energy gap, which allows chemical change in these materials. The optical absorption coefficient of organic molecules is high, so a large amount of light can be absorbed with a small amount of materials. The main disadvantages associated with organic photovoltaic cells are low efficiency, low stability and low strength compared to inorganic photovoltaic cells.

A photovoltaic cell is a specialized semiconductor diode that converts visible light into direct current (DC) electricity. Some photovoltaic cells can also convert infrared (IR) or ultraviolet (UV) radiation into DC. A common characteristic of both the small molecules and polymers (Fig 1) used in photovoltaic is that they all have large conjugated systems. A conjugated system is

formed where carbon atoms covalently bond with alternating single and double bonds, in other words these are chemical reactions of hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons electrons pz orbitals delocalize and form a delocalized bonding orbital with a * antibonding orbital. The delocalized orbital is the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), and the * orbital is the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). The separation between HOMO and LUMO is considered as the band gap of organic electronic materials. The band gap is typically in the range of 1-4 eV [2].

When these materials absorb a photon, an excited state is created and confined to a molecule or a region of a polymer chain. The excited state can be regarded as an electron hole pair bound together by electrostatic interactions. In photovoltaic cells, excitons are broken up into free electrons-hole pairs by effective fields. The effective field are set up by creating a heterojunction between two dissimilar materials. Effective fields break up excitons by causing the electron to fall from the conduction band of the absorber to the conduction band of the acceptor molecule. It is necessary that the acceptor material has a conduction band edge that is lower than that of the absorber material [3][4][5][6]. New types: C60 has high electron affinity, making it a good material as electron acceptor in photovoltaic cells of this type. Sariciftci et al. fabricated a C60/MEH-PPV double layer cell, which had a relatively high fill factor of 0.48 and a power conversion efficiency of 0.04% under monochromatic illumination.[7] For PPV/C60 cells, Halls et al. reported a monochromatic external quantum efficiency of 9%, a power conversion efficiency of 1% and a fill factor of 0.48 [8]. Professor Luping Yu, Department of Chemistry University of Chicago, has discovered new type of polymer system for modifying the OVP that breaks the 7% efficiency barrier for OPV solar cells. It's a significant efficiency boost, which makes OPV solar cells very close to some of the inorganic solar cells. It gave impetus to the field that organic materials exhibit great potential to be competitive with inorganic counterparts.

For the Bright FutureBulk Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells with Power Conversion Efficiency of 7.4%

The external quantum efficiency spectra of polymer solar cells prepared in different solvents, (CB, chlorobenzene, DCB, Dichlorobenzene, DIO, Diiodooctane); and the structure of polymer PBT7 and PCBM. Yongye Liang, et al., Adv. Mater., Vol 22, 2010, E135E138, May 25, 2010. Copyright Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. Reproduced with permission.

He said that: "I believe our work will have a positive impact to society and the environment. We have made significant improvement for OPV materials. The further development will lead to promising alternative materials for solar energy harvesting with low cost and possible flexible structures." References: